Strategy Asset Managers LLC Has $268,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 82.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,131 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 1,580 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $122,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.6% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.6% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 22.4% in the first quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 138,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,039,000 after purchasing an additional 25,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.68. The company has a market cap of $212.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. 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 has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $135.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.