Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Sells 606 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.1% of Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 value of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $162.31 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $167.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.21. The firm 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.

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. 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%.Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 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.