Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Boosted by Valeo Financial Advisors LLC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 563 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.4% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 56,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,543,000 after buying an additional 26,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.12 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.62 and a 200-day moving average of $134.89. The company has a market capitalization of $252.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 buy 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.

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.