3,609 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by First Command Advisory Services Inc.

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 76.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,609 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after purchasing an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after purchasing an additional 188,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.81.

Latest Morgan Stanley News

These are some of the MS news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent, bringing share-transfer and recordkeeping capabilities in-house. The deal could deepen its wealth-management services and reduce reliance on outside providers, although financial benefits may take time to emerge. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Positive Sentiment: One report noted that Morgan Stanley recorded a modest inflow while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced broad withdrawals—a relative bright spot for its digital-asset offering. Bitcoin ETF Outflows
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary questioned whether the bank’s strong three-year share-price gains and current valuation are justified by returns on capital. Its tokenization and digital-transfer initiatives may create longer-term opportunities, but their effect on profitability remains uncertain. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total transaction of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $190.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The company has a market cap of $297.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.