Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Sold by First Command Advisory Services Inc.

First Command Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 76.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,609 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $190.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $297.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Investors following MS have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent, bringing share-transfer and recordkeeping capabilities in-house. The deal could deepen its wealth-management services and reduce reliance on outside providers, although financial benefits may take time to emerge. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Positive Sentiment: One report noted that Morgan Stanley recorded a modest inflow while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced broad withdrawals—a relative bright spot for its digital-asset offering. Bitcoin ETF Outflows
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary questioned whether the bank’s strong three-year share-price gains and current valuation are justified by returns on capital. Its tokenization and digital-transfer initiatives may create longer-term opportunities, but their effect on profitability remains uncertain. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.