Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

MS stock opened at $131.61 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $78.21 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a market cap of $212.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $119.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley 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.