Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 194 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $158.70 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.30. The firm has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $166.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.