Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.6% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted 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 purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $166.77. The firm has a market cap of $254.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

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.