Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Has $427,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MS opened at $143.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $229.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.37 and a 200-day moving average of $127.74.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.