RFG Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.9% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6%

MS stock opened at $160.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $255.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.54.

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.