Waterfront Wealth Inc. Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Waterfront Wealth Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.4% in the first quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $165.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.53 and a 200-day moving average of $140.12. 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 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $167.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 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.