Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $168.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.13 and a 200-day moving average of $147.53. 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 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.38.

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.