Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,218 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE: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. The firm has a market cap of $215.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.22. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.51.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.