Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 37,062 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 47.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,062 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Dbs Bank increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.20.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $250 from $225 and kept a Buy rating, signaling more upside as the firm heads into earnings season. Benzinga coverage of Morgan Stanley target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also lifted its target to $255 and reiterated a Buy rating, adding to bullish analyst sentiment ahead of the company’s July 15 Q2 report. Benzinga coverage of UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s view that large-cap tech could rally again, which may be helping the broader “risk-on” tone around financial markets and Morgan Stanley shares. TipRanks article on Morgan Stanley Mag 7 call
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s own upcoming earnings release, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth already baked into forecasts, which can keep the stock active but not necessarily directional by itself. Benzinga earnings preview for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, recent commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s continued shift of client assets toward adviser-led wealth management, a longer-term strategic positive but not a near-term catalyst. 247WallSt article on Morgan Stanley wealth management shift

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $344.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $135.26 and a 12-month high of $230.47.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.