Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,386,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,658,328. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $132.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market cap of $227.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.