Savvy Advisors Inc. Buys 1,552 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 65.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $132.31 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $74.55 and a twelve month high of $133.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

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.