Tobam Makes New $43,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of MS opened at $169.86 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $171.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

About Morgan Stanley

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.