Moran Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after purchasing an additional 119,633 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $87,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $135.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.66 and its 200 day moving average is $104.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.