Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,901 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.1% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. 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, October 16th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $163.84 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.51. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $167.13. 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 company has a market cap of $261.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 yield of 2.4%. 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.