Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Acquires 6,835 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 432,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.5% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $60,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake 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 purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MS opened at $159.21 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The stock has a market cap of $254.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $154.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.43. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

About Morgan Stanley

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.