FORA Capital LLC Makes New $5.63 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 48,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MS opened at $147.66 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $149.08. The firm has a market cap of $235.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.