Nightview Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Nightview Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,566 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 3.6% of Nightview Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Nightview Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $176.64 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market cap of $280.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.57. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $177.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.