Morgan Stanley $MS Position Boosted by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 277.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136,507 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $150.50 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $150.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.05 and a 200-day moving average of $129.31. The company has a market capitalization of $240.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase 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 2.7%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup restated 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.25.

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.