Quantum Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Quantum Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tlwm grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $124.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.83. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.