Grove Bank & Trust Sells 314 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Grove Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.06.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $112.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $112.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $101.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.69.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.