HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.4% during the first quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 386.2% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 24,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 19,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MS opened at $165.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.35 and its 200 day moving average is $140.68. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $167.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS 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 business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.