TCTC Holdings LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities restated 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MS opened at $142.46 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market capitalization of $228.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $135.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.88.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.