Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lowered by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,438 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 208.3% in the 1st quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 83.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Odeon Capital Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $79.15 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. UBS Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $84.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.42.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $79.68 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $100.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $13.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, major shareholder Stanley Morgan sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50,000.00, for a total value of $6,750,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.