Atria Investments Inc Sells 16,908 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Atria Investments Inc lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 85,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,908 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 113.0% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

MS opened at $165.17 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $167.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 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 business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.