Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st 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, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $155.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.07.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.85.

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.