OneAscent Financial Services LLC Takes $466,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after acquiring an additional 42,743 shares in the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,513,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,699,000 after buying an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MS opened at $140.43 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $134.24 and a 200 day moving average of $127.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $225.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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