Copley Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Copley Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 106.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.3% in the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 23,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

MS stock opened at $168.15 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $171.77. The company has a market cap of $267.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.38.

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.