Burney Co. Sells 21,447 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Burney Co. trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,447 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $163.53 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $167.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.90. The company has a market capitalization of $261.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.