Krane Funds Advisors LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,383,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 22.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the first quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MS opened at $117.66 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $121.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.57.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.