LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 96,698 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 96,698 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 2.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,941,000 after buying an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,233,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,774,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $139.09 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $145.48. The stock has a market cap of $223.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.87 and a 200 day moving average of $128.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.