Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,272 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $163.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.14.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

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.