Aries Wealth Management Invests $241,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aries Wealth Management purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley 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.