Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.7% of Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 12,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $134.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.93. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $134.91.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. UBS Group boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. HSBC upgraded 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.29.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.