Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Buys 1,288 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $154.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.87. The company has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $166.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

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.