2,436,717 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC

Key Points

• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC has acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 2,436,717 shares valued at approximately $343 million, representing about 0.15% ownership of the company.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings on Morgan Stanley, with price targets ranging from $130 to $165, indicating positive sentiment surrounding the stock's future performance.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share and initiated a $20 billion share buyback program, signifying confidence in its stock valuation and ongoing financial health.

Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,436,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $343,236,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Morgan Stanley as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.33 on Tuesday, hitting $162.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,286,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,468,723. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $258.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.93. 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 (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. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

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.