Morgan Stanley $MS is Telos Capital Management Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Telos Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.1% of Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EPG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $202,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 32,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,605,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 225.8% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 145,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,537,000 after buying an additional 101,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 355.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 11,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 8,893 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Three equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7%

MS opened at $164.17 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.51. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $167.13. The stock has a market cap of $262.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

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.