2,082 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by CWS Financial Advisors LLC

CWS Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $362,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

MS stock opened at $163.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.79 and a 200-day moving average of $144.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $171.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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