Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Rehmann Capital Advisory Group

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 493 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $157.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $154.09 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03. The stock has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 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. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $166.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.