Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,473 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 48,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,699,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492 shares during the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $315,000. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the first quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 112,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $449,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $154.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $154.53. The firm has a market cap of $246.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.12.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.