Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,734 shares during the quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first 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. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

MS stock opened at $158.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $252.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $171.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

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.