Brighton Jones LLC Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Brighton Jones LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,218 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the second quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 45,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,357,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26,250.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 406,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,234,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $163.78 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $154.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

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.