Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $159,714,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,061,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,973,000 after acquiring an additional 979,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $100.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.64. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley 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.