Morgan Stanley $MS Stock: Lido Advisors LLC Grows Position

Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,347 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $293.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith A. Miscik sold 2,480 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the sale, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Vinyl Equity acquisition would add digital share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping capabilities, connecting companies’ equity administration needs with the firm’s workplace and wealth-management services. The strategic rationale is to deepen relationships with private companies and potentially retain more client assets through IPO transitions. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction may be nearing its end, while advising investors to remain selective. A market rebound could support trading and investment-banking activity, but this is a broad-market view rather than a company-specific forecast. Morgan Stanley strategist on market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith A. Miscik disclosed selling 2,480 Morgan Stanley shares for about $454,000, reducing her holdings by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, though its size is limited relative to her remaining stake. SEC filing of director share sale

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.