MCF Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $257,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 181,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 289,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,215,000 after buying an additional 27,200 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,269,000 after buying an additional 10,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $2.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $116.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,271,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,094,703. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $121.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $189.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.