OmniStar Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.2% of OmniStar Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $121.07. 6,852,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,119,605. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $103.38 and its 200 day moving average is $99.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.56.

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.