654,400 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 654,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,179,000. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.6% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.10. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $166.77. The firm has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.54.

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.