SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 2,659 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• SGL Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.5%, acquiring an additional 2,659 shares and bringing its total to 5,204 shares valued at $734,000.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.98, and generating a revenue of $16.79 billion, up 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a new quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.93, with a yield of 2.5%.

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 104.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,075,000 after buying an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $158.12 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $150.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.89. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $252.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.92.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 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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