Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Increased by Oak Harvest Investment Services

Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 131,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.3% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE MS opened at $165.52 on Friday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.45. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $171.77. The company has a market capitalization of $263.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

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.