Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 294 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hills Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $116.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.17. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $71.65 and a 12 month high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given 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 3.17%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.