Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,021,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 127,363 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $497,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $221.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.61. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $230.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.20.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Morgan Stanley to top both consensus and its own earnings estimates, helped by strong capital markets activity, wealth-management inflows, and a favorable operating backdrop.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary points to stronger trading revenue, higher investment-banking fees, and improving net interest income as catalysts for a solid second quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors appear to be positioning ahead of Morgan Stanley’s earnings release on July 15, which is keeping attention on the stock but also introducing event risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation-focused commentary suggested the shares may be expensive relative to current fundamentals, which could cap upside if earnings fail to impress.

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.