Calamos Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, now owning a total of 77,891 shares valued at approximately $10.97 million.
• Multiple institutional investors are also increasing their stakes in Morgan Stanley, with notable increases from CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC by 111% and Abound Wealth Management by 58.5% during the same period.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target from $145 to $164, and the stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $165.54.

Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $158.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $166.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $153.29 and its 200 day moving average is $137.10. The firm has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 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 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership 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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