Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $1.34 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $162.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $158.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.42. 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 current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

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.