Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Acquires 19,218 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,305,000 after buying an additional 119,633 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 96.6% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 16,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $87,558,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $118.62. 1,453,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,050,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.06 and a 200 day moving average of $100.74. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $70.27 and a 52 week high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

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.