Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 5,017 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 485,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,017 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $50,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.21 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.14. The company has a market cap of $211.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.00.

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.