AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $164.17 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $167.13. The stock has a market cap of $262.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.06.

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. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.