Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Acquires 721 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $466,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $159.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $171.77. The stock has a market cap of $254.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

About Morgan Stanley

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.