Strs Ohio Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 338,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,882 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $55,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE MS opened at $214.27 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $337.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $204.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley secured conditional OCC approval for a trust charter, moving it closer to offering a federally supervised digital-asset trust and strengthening its long-term crypto custody strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary from market outlets highlighted Morgan Stanley’s favorable stance on traditional asset managers and bank stocks, which can support sentiment toward MS’s wealth-management and capital-markets model.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor articles also noted Morgan Stanley’s recently announced dividend hike and $20 billion buyback, reinforcing capital-return support for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent posts discussed Morgan Stanley research on other companies, including price-target changes on stocks like American Airlines, Edison International, and Dominion Energy; these are informative but not direct catalysts for MS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.