Goldstein Advisors LLC Sells 173 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Goldstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $166.77. The company has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.10.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

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

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.