HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% in the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 120.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the second quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $165.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.35 and its 200 day moving average is $140.68. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

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.