Sather Financial Group Inc Makes New $989,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Sather Financial Group Inc purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $152.07 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.61 and a 200 day moving average of $135.68. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.85.

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.