FNY Investment Advisers LLC Invests $1.08 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 7,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.7%

MS stock opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $254.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.89.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.