IPG Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,269 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

IPG Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,269 shares during the quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 297.4% during the second quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $185.97 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $196.97 and a 200-day moving average of $194.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $236 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the reference price in the report. UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching a $2.3 billion Baldwin debt offering. The deal may provide underwriting activity and related fee revenue, although the article listing offers limited detail. Morgan Stanley launches Baldwin debt offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market outlook is divided: one strategist sees the election as a potential “clearing event” that could help the selloff end, while other reports flag risks from election uncertainty and fragile technology-stock buying. The outlook matters to MS because market moves can affect trading and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley flags a stock-market turning point
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across market sectors; the announcement provides no specific indication of a direct financial impact on MS. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists have warned that the S&P 500 could face further losses, with one report citing a possible 9% decline and another describing three potential “clearing events.” Persistent volatility could curb investor activity and pressure market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley warns the S&P 500 could drop

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.