Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by KPP Advisory Services LLC

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.06. The company had a trading volume of 7,281,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,088. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $134.91. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.55 and its 200-day moving average is $103.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. 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.