Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Acquires 115 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $160.76 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.56 and a 200 day moving average of $132.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.92.

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.