Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in 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. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $157.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.92.

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.