Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 471,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,218 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 433.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,392,000 after buying an additional 633,319 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,453,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,050,833. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $70.27 and a one year high of $121.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.