Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,856 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $163.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $154.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $166.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Three 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.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.