Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC Invests $312,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC purchased 2,215 shares of Morgan Stanley, valued at approximately $312,000, marking a new stake in the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have also increased their holdings in Morgan Stanley recently, with 84.19% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, representing a 2.5% yield, and has authorized a stock buyback plan of $20 billion.

Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MS traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.68. 14,899,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. The company has a market capitalization of $254.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $161.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.55.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.