Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,123 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 29,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 12,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 186.3% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 61,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 39,772 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Three investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $162.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $257.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.11 and its 200 day moving average is $142.98. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.