Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 19,378 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Stokes Capital Advisors nearly doubled its Morgan Stanley stake in Q1, buying 19,378 additional shares to bring its total holding to 39,573 shares valued at about $6.5 million.
• Morgan Stanley has been buoyed by several positive developments, including a $20 billion stock buyback, a higher quarterly dividend, and Wells Fargo’s increased price target of $225.
• The company also reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue rising 16% year over year; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $209.50.

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 96.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,378 shares during the period. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced a new $20 billion stock buyback authorization and raised its quarterly dividend, reinforcing confidence in balance-sheet strength and future cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley to $225, suggesting modest upside from current levels and helping support investor sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also received a tenth consecutive “Outstanding” rating from the OCC for community reinvestment activities, a reputational plus for the banking franchise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted broad banker strength after the Fed stress test, which could provide a favorable backdrop for Morgan Stanley and peers through dividend and buyback expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s private-credit fund withdrawal caps, but that appears more like a sector liquidity issue than a direct operating setback for MS today.
• Negative Sentiment: Some private-credit headlines may keep pressure on financials with alternatives exposure, as investors worry about redemption risk and liquidity conditions across the sector.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $221.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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