Bank of Jackson Hole Trust Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,284 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $165.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $155.53 and its 200 day moving average is $140.12. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $167.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.