Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,500 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rathbone Brothers plc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $5,144,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,357,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,157,000 after buying an additional 58,710 shares during the last quarter. Private Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $344,000. Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 6,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,973,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.26% of the company’s stock.
Morgan Stanley (MS) opened at 46.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.93. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $27.79 and a 52-week high of $47.33.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.05 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 16.77%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post $3.49 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.92%.
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A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up previously from $58.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Bank of America Corporation boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Buckingham Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 10th. Zacks Investment Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG restated a “buy” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.25.
In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 212,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total value of $9,116,829.45. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,389,378 shares in the company, valued at $59,645,997.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jonathan Pruzan sold 25,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $1,202,803.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 196,708 shares in the company, valued at $9,182,329.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.
Morgan Stanley Company Profile
Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. The Company’s segments include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. The Company’s Institutional Securities business segment provides investment banking, sales and trading, and other services to corporations, governments, financial institutions and high-to-ultra high net worth clients.
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