Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,862 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.0% in the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $215.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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.