Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Winthrop Advisory Group LLC

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $155.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.04. The company has a market cap of $248.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.