Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Impact Capital Partners LLC

Impact Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 459 shares during the quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $159.06 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.74. The company has a market capitalization of $253.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% 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 valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.