Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,566 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $132.44 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $134.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.