Holistic Financial Partners Acquires Shares of 1,709 Morgan Stanley $MS

Holistic Financial Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.2% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,733,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062,996 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 356.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 16,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.53 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. The stock has a market cap 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’s fifty day moving average is $156.99 and its 200 day moving average is $141.90. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

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.