5,000 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Vinyl Equity acquisition would add digital share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping capabilities, connecting companies’ equity administration needs with the firm’s workplace and wealth-management services. The strategic rationale is to deepen relationships with private companies and potentially retain more client assets through IPO transitions. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction may be nearing its end, while advising investors to remain selective. A market rebound could support trading and investment-banking activity, but this is a broad-market view rather than a company-specific forecast. Morgan Stanley strategist on market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith A. Miscik disclosed selling 2,480 Morgan Stanley shares for about $454,000, reducing her holdings by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, though its size is limited relative to her remaining stake. SEC filing of director share sale

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $152.80 and a one year high of $232.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Judith A. Miscik sold 2,480 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total transaction of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.