Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 25,695 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 60.2%, selling 25,695 shares and leaving it with 16,958 shares worth approximately $2,391,000.
• Morgan Stanley posted a strong quarterly performance with an EPS of $2.80, beating estimates by $0.73, and reported a 18.5% year-over-year revenue increase of $18.22 billion.
• The company's board has authorized a $20 billion share repurchase plan, allowing for the buyback of up to 8.9% of its shares, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,695 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $161.91 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $258.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $152.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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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