Brookstone Capital Management Acquires 13,349 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 172.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,349 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 41,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,886,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 601.3% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.2% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 248,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,984,000 after buying an additional 20,982 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.38 on Monday, reaching $143.76. The company had a trading volume of 5,990,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,690,327. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.