TrinityPoint Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 2,023 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TrinityPoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

MS opened at $133.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $135.51. The company has a market cap of $215.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

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.