Manhattan West Asset Management LLC Takes $211,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Manhattan West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $143.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $93.54 and a 12 month high of $145.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

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.