Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Purchases 13,044 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 356.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,044 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,265,000 after purchasing an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $164.17 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $156.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.51. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $167.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.