Klingman & Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Klingman & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 36.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $161.87 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $166.77. The firm has a market cap of $258.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.74.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.54.

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.