Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,748 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 25.7%, selling 1,748 shares in the second quarter, leaving them with 5,063 shares valued at $713,000.
• A number of other large investors adjusted their positions, with Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increasing their stake by 27.9% and Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raising theirs by 3.4%.
• Morgan Stanley reported earnings of $2.80 per share for the quarter, significantly beating expectations and demonstrating an 18.5% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,748 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,532,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,528,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $215,249,000 after buying an additional 12,825 shares during the last quarter. ShoreHaven Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Huntleigh Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,984,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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 issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

MS opened at $158.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.32. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day moving average of $137.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $166.77.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.