Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $35,000. 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MS opened at $165.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $263.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

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.