Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 10,038 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,038 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $51,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after purchasing an additional 28,877 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after purchasing an additional 30,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,635,000 after purchasing an additional 287,056 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

MS stock opened at $181.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.43.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported adjusted earnings of $3.03 per share and revenue of $20.34 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.93 and $19.93 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 11.6% year over year, while net income attributable to the firm rose to approximately $4.9 billion. Morgan Stanley Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41%, helping offset weaker fixed-income markets. Wealth Management also delivered record revenue of roughly $9.1 billion, added $232.4 billion in net new assets and reached approximately $10.5 trillion in client assets. IPO-related activity was a major contributor to new asset flows. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a yield of about 2.5%. Morgan Stanley also repurchased approximately $1.54 billion of common stock, while its standardized CET1 capital ratio stood at 14.9%. Morgan Stanley Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat was heavily dependent on equities trading, which may be difficult to repeat. Fixed-income trading revenue declined as Treasury yields rose and bond-market volatility reduced client activity. Wall Street Banks Trading Revenue Report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that higher compensation costs, increased loan-loss provisions and relatively modest investment-banking growth made the quarter less durable beneath the headline numbers. Broader pressure on bank stocks from hotter inflation data and rising yields added to the caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness has left MS well below its 52-week high and near its 50- and 200-day moving averages, increasing sensitivity to concerns about valuation and the cooling outlook for mergers and IPOs.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.