Constitution Capital LLC Has $725,000 Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Constitution Capital LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 185.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 925.0% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,196,000 after acquiring an additional 117,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.77.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $181.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $182.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents 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. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High institutional ownership (62%)—a large, stable institutional base can reduce volatility and lend support to the share price as liquidity and long-term holders remain material. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is a favorite amongst institutional investors who own 62%
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/IB strength signaled by research on M&A synergy — Morgan Stanley highlighted Viterra-driven synergy upside when upgrading Bunge (BG) and raising its price target, underscoring the firm’s advisory/research capabilities that drive fee income. Morgan Stanley Highlights Viterra Synergy Upside in Bunge’s (BG) Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Grail (GRAL) with an Equal Weight and raised its price target — a routine research call that signals coverage expansion and could modestly boost trading/research revenues but has limited direct impact on MS’s stock. Morgan Stanley Eyes Emerging Growth for Grail (GRAL) as Sector Valuations Reach Equilibrium
• Neutral Sentiment: Research note: Morgan Stanley sees policy risks receding for Regeneron (REGN) — another example of routine analyst flow; reinforces MS’s role as a major research house but is unlikely to move MS shares materially. Morgan Stanley Sees Policy Risks Receding for Regeneron (REGN)
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial holder in West African Resources — the firm and listed subsidiaries notified the miner that their stake fell below substantial-holder thresholds, indicating a reduction in the bank’s direct investment exposure; likely immaterial to MS’s overall balance sheet but viewed as a slight negative on portfolio assets. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in West African Resources

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.