First National Trust Co Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

First National Trust Co boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after purchasing an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $165.91 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $264.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $155.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.