Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $267,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. invested $267,000 in Morgan Stanley, acquiring 1,898 shares in the 2nd quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing estimates, with quarterly revenue of $16.79 billion, reflecting an 11.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $20 billion share buyback program, signaling confidence in its stock valuation, alongside a recent increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $160.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $148.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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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