Covenant Asset Management LLC Has $2.01 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Covenant Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $135.17 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.89. The company has a market capitalization of $217.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.