Berger Financial Group Inc Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Berger Financial Group Inc reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MS opened at $157.40 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.63.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.92.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.