Westmount Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Westmount Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 1,661 shares valued at approximately $234,000.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Two Sigma Investments LP, have significantly increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, indicating a trend of growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported positive earnings, with $2.13 earnings per share exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend increase to $1.00 per share.

Westmount Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 4,524 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 426.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 118,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,954,000 after purchasing an additional 96,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $156.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $158.48. The company's fifty day moving average price is $145.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.66. 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 data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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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