Todd Asset Management LLC Buys 153 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 386,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.1% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $45,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 81,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,302,000 after purchasing an additional 8,072 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,640,000. Entruity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $143.23 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $93.54 and a 52-week high of $145.48. The stock has a market cap of $228.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $138.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.40.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

About Morgan Stanley

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.