3,071 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by TSG Advice Partners LLC

TSG Advice Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $185.57 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $152.80 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The stock has a market cap of $292.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.54 and its 200 day moving average is $194.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $240 from $236 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying approximately 29% upside from the referenced price. The revision provides a direct bullish catalyst for Morgan Stanley (MS). UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the U.S. equity correction may be nearing its end and that the midterm elections could act as a “clearing event.” A market rebound would likely support Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management fees, asset values, and investment-banking activity. Morgan Stanley strategist market outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $20.8 million in net buying of MS shares, with 42 ETFs purchasing the stock versus 15 selling it in the cited session. This suggests supportive institutional and passive-investment demand. ETF buying of Morgan Stanley shares
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across the 11 major U.S. equity sectors. The release reinforces the firm’s brokerage and wealth-management engagement but did not disclose a specific earnings impact. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Neutral Sentiment: Cousins Properties joined the venture acquiring the Dallas site for Morgan Stanley’s planned $1.2 billion high-rise. The partnership may help advance the project, but the development is a long-term initiative and has limited immediate effect on MS earnings. Cousins Properties Dallas high-rise project
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that an artificial-intelligence-related correction could push the S&P 500 lower by about 9%. Although the firm does not view this as the end of the bull market, renewed volatility could temporarily pressure asset levels, trading activity, and fee revenue. Morgan Stanley S&P 500 warning

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.81.

About Morgan Stanley

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.