Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,820 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 24,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.9% during the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 48,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,202,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 27,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded down $0.68 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. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $106.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.74. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $70.27 and a 52 week high of $121.45. The firm has a market cap of $192.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

About Morgan Stanley

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.