Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Oakmont Investment Advisors acquired 5,149 Morgan Stanley shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.08 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion and EPS of $3.46, beating estimates of $2.89. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $224.75.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield.

Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,076,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potentially major Anthropic IPO role: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly close to receiving leading roles in Anthropic’s anticipated IPO, which could involve a valuation near $2 trillion. The deal would strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology and equity-underwriting franchise and provide a potentially meaningful source of fees and future business. Anthropic is also reportedly arranging a $15 billion revolving credit facility, with Morgan Stanley leading the process. Anthropic close to awarding Morgan Stanley and Goldman top roles in $2tn IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent earnings backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue up 27.1% year over year and earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 consensus estimate. The performance supports investor confidence in the firm’s trading, investment-banking and wealth-management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing conference and client activity: Morgan Stanley is hosting its 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, while companies including Tempus, Attovia Therapeutics, Eaton and Southwest Airlines are scheduled to present. These events reinforce the firm’s role in institutional research and client engagement but are unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Tempus to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright dispute with X: Morgan Stanley has filed complaints against at least 16 X posts that allegedly shared copyrighted research and temporarily locked a prominent strategist’s account. The action may protect valuable intellectual property, but it also creates reputational and legal uncertainty and could disrupt the firm’s visibility on a major platform used by investors. Morgan Stanley Hands Elon Musk a New X Headache

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $217.73 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $146.29 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $215.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $343.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm's revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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