Cooper Financial Group Acquires 1,259 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $143.23 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $93.54 and a 1 year high of $145.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $228.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $138.24 and a 200-day moving average of $128.40.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% 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. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.