Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,733 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second 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 last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $132.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $134.65. The stock has a market cap of $213.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.05.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

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.