Altman Advisors Inc. Has $1.94 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $7,288,000 after buying an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,513,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $141.66 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $145.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.92. The stock has a market cap of $227.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.12. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.