Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 63,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,678 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.7% of Iowa State Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 385.2% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $3.33 on Monday, reaching $129.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,014,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,943,626. The stock has a market cap of $208.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $127.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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 dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.13.

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.