Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Buys 500 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

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.