Personal CFO Solutions LLC Purchases 484 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $141.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $226.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.54.

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.