Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 707 shares during the quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.1% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 74,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,701,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $466,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.5%

MS opened at $159.69 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $171.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $253.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

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.