Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $57,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $147.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $138.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.57. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $148.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.