Liberty Wealth Management LLC Sells 49,406 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Liberty Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 96.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,406 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. 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 position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

MS opened at $165.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $264.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.