SPC Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

SPC Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $151.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley 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.