Oak Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oak Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $128.33 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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.