Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Invests $252,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 191,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,951,000 after buying an additional 36,800 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.3% in the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 395,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,704,000 after purchasing an additional 33,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $165.91 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.71. The firm has a market cap of $264.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a PEG 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. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $166.77.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.