Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Invests $233,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired 1,997 shares of Morgan Stanley, valued at approximately $233,000, marking a new investment in the firm during the first quarter.
• Insiders have recently sold a significant number of shares, with one insider selling 20,000 shares and another selling 43,566 shares, indicating potential shifts in their confidence in the company.
• The company has authorized a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, which allows it to buy back up to 8.9% of its shares, signaling the board's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC 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 1,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 81,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,302,000 after buying an additional 8,072 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,640,000. Entruity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was 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 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $143.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $228.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The business's fifty day moving average is $138.24 and its 200 day moving average is $128.40. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $93.54 and a twelve month high of $145.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

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.

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