Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC

Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 25.6% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.2% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 14,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $163.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $166.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.14. 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 firm has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.