Aries Wealth Management Makes New $241,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Aries Wealth Management made a new investment of approximately $241,000 in Morgan Stanley, acquiring 1,708 shares during the second quarter.
• Several large investors also adjusted their positions in Morgan Stanley, with Boston Trust Walden Corp dramatically increasing its stake by 6,017.7% to be valued at $20.88 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Citigroup increasing the target from $130 to $155, reflecting positive sentiment around the stock.

Aries Wealth Management acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Cypress Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6,017.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 148,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,880,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 29,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.19 and a 200 day moving average of $136.21. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $247.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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