eCIO Inc. Sells 220,011 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

eCIO Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 99.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 220,011 shares during the period. eCIO Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $164.99 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $158.40 and its 200 day moving average is $143.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $167.13. The company has a market capitalization of $262.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.