Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,685,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4%

MS stock opened at $142.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.88. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The company has a market cap of $228.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reissued 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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 shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.