Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Trims Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,163 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $362,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $159.83 on Wednesday. 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 $254.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $171.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

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.