Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:MS opened at $158.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $150.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $252.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.92.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.