Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC Makes New $228,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.5%

MS opened at $165.21 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $167.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $263.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.53 and a 200-day moving average of $140.12.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

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.