Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7%

MS stock opened at $162.31 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $158.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.42. The stock has a market cap of $257.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price target 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, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.