Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC

Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $163.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $166.77.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business’s 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.