Solstein Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Solstein Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 92.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Solstein Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.8%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. 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 $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

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.