Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Increased by Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC

Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $225,000. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 108,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,252,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 77,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $158.70 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The company has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued 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 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.