Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 25,668 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 154,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,668 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claro Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 34.6% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 5,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 1,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 370,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,638,000 after acquiring an additional 9,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $453,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $181.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: CNBC traders named Morgan Stanley among their “final trades,” citing strong earnings and outlooks. Morgan Stanley, Chubb and CF Industries: CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has begun using the DTCC’s tokenization service for U.S. equities and Treasuries. The move positions the bank in emerging blockchain market infrastructure, though reports provide no detail on expected revenue or near-term financial impact. What Could Morgan Stanley (MS) Tokenization Mean For Its Role In Markets?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness in Morgan Stanley shares was described as part of a broad market selloff that dragged down major banks, with no company-specific news identified. The bank’s exposure to trading and dealmaking could make it sensitive if market activity cools. Morgan Stanley Sinks 6%, Goldman Down 6%, Citi Down 5% as Market Selloff Drags Wall Street Banks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.81.

About Morgan Stanley

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.

Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley serves clients in the United States and across international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.