Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. 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 is 45.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley 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.