Carmel Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Carmel Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 657,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.7% in the second quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.0% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.5% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverbend Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $240,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began 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 for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $253.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.98. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.