First Affirmative Financial Network Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 114.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,059,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,321,786 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $904,714,000 after acquiring an additional 10,632,735 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $451,711,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $46,800,000. 83.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MS. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Odeon Capital Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total value of $11,898,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,269,930.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total value of $11,898,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,269,930.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,615,166.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 369,100 shares of company stock valued at $34,634,996. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $88.41 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.47 and a 200-day moving average of $86.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $74.67 and a 1 year high of $100.99. The company has a market capitalization of $146.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.02 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.