D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,319 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,319 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.0% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 17,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 28.7% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 94,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 18,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 36.7% in the second quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.99 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

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.