Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 21,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares in the last quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.9% during the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 28,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 4,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4%

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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.