Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Purchases 513 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE:MS opened at $163.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $166.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $154.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.