Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 42.7% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 229,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,623,000 after acquiring an additional 3,806 shares in the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the first quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 257,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,220,000 after buying an additional 6,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,466,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.28 on Wednesday, reaching $133.59. 241,746 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,064,316. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.05. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $133.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

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.