Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Lifted by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 322.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,612 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.12 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.89. The firm has a market cap of $252.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.92.

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.