Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Capital Advisors Inc. OK

Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 503,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.3% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $70,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.