Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 73,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.4% of Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $110.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $101.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.56. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $111.47. The firm has a market cap of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.06.

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.