Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Position Trimmed by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 165,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,569 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,210,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,157,918,000 after purchasing an additional 756,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,655,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $710,997,000 after buying an additional 26,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $141.33 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $92.01 and a twelve month high of $145.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $225.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.45.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.