Morgan Stanley $MS Position Boosted by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,528,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,825 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 5.0% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $215,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. ShoreHaven Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $200,000. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $1,984,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 657,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,601,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.7% in the second quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.0% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated 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 assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day moving average of $136.98. 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 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $166.77.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.