Trust Point Inc. Grows Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 740 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after buying an additional 303,654 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after acquiring an additional 212,551 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,573,000 after acquiring an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,969,000 after acquiring an additional 57,104 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price 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, Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1 %

MS traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $119.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,521,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,091,947. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $121.45. The company has a market cap of $193.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Morgan Stanley 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.