3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Has $561,000 Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4%

MS stock opened at $156.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.35 and a 200-day moving average of $135.40. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.