Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,306 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MS 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.28. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.