Leo Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 2,158 Morgan Stanley $MS

Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.85.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $152.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a PE 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 results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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