Apollon Wealth Management LLC Buys 9,674 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.3%, owning a total of 82,358 shares valued at approximately $11.6 million after acquiring 9,674 shares in the second quarter.
• Morgan Stanley's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing the consensus estimate, with revenue also up 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a dividend increase to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, with a current dividend yield of 2.6%, indicative of its strong financial performance.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 13.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,674 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $152.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $151.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.58. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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