Private Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Private Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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 MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

MS stock opened at $165.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $166.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.71. The stock has a market cap of $264.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.