OmniStar Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.2% of OmniStar Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 134.6% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MS traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.90. 1,900,383 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,093,910. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $121.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.86 and its 200-day moving average is $99.10.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.