DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 4,659 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,659 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 32,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.0% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the first quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.85.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% 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 insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $155.84 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $248.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

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.