OFI Invest Asset Management Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3%, accumulating 421,597 shares valued at approximately $59.4 million as of the end of the latest quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC, have lifted their positions in Morgan Stanley, reflecting growing institutional interest, with institutional investors now owning >84% of the company's stock.
• Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings beat expectations with $2.13 EPS, and the firm announced a dividend increase, now paying $1.00 per share, demonstrating robust financial health.

OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 421,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,366 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $59,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 184,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,988,000 after buying an additional 44,161 shares in the last quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $989,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 269,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,964,000 after purchasing an additional 9,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $152.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $151.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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