Prudential PLC Has $14.96 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,748 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MS opened at $143.87 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $93.54 and a twelve month high of $145.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $138.55 and its 200 day moving average is $128.44.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.