Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Raised by Hartline Investment Corp

by · The Markets Daily

Hartline Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,148 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.3% of Hartline Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $206,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 16,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 11,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.62.

Get Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $144.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.93. The firm has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $144.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

(Free Report)

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.

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