Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 169,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,862,000 after acquiring an additional 8,781 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 120.6% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $165.17 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $156.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

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.