Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,272 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after buying an additional 26,763 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $163.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.14. 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 firm has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

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

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.