Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Alta Wealth Advisors LLC

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.