Avalon Trust Co Has $1.13 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Avalon Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $169.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $269.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $171.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.31.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.