Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 6,154 shares valued at around $867,000 during the second quarter.
• Morgan Stanley reported earnings of $2.80 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations and showing an 18.5% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company announced a share repurchase program worth $20 billion, demonstrating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $867,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 26,763 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $161.91 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $258.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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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