Northstar Advisory Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

by · The Markets Daily

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 29.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MS opened at $156.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $157.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MS

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(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.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report).