Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 12,425 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.6%, acquiring an additional 12,425 shares, bringing their total holdings to 200,218 shares valued at approximately $28.2 million.
• Several research analysts revised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with BMO Capital Markets setting a new target price of $180.00, indicating strong growth expectations.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, along with a $20 billion share buyback plan, signaling confidence in the company's valuation.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,425 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.61 and a 200-day moving average of $135.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released 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 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate 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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