Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $152.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.79. The company has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G 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 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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.