Morgan Stanley $MS Position Raised by Morangie Management LLC

Morangie Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 31.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,185 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 4.1% of Morangie Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Morangie Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brave Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Kingsman Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kingsman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 10,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 594.6% in the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 130,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,418,000 after buying an additional 111,932 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

MS stock opened at $158.96 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.28 and a 200-day moving average of $132.63.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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, Citigroup reiterated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.92.

About Morgan Stanley

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.