Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 67.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,519 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
NYSE:MS opened at $124.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.83. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.
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.
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