Abel Hall LLC Takes $212,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $142.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,817,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,901,226. The stock has a market cap of $228.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.