Hartline Investment Corp Buys 34,829 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hartline Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 107.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,829 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.9% of Hartline Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $132.31 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.05. The firm has a market cap of $213.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $74.55 and a 1 year high of $133.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup increased their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

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.