Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 39.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MS opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in 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 often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

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.