Reston Wealth Management LLC Invests $133,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 324,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,171,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.5% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 7,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.9% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $116.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $70.27 and a twelve month high of $121.45. The company has a market capitalization of $188.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

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.