CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 6,304 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 49.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,304 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its holdings in 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 worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

MS opened at $134.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $116.16 and its 200 day moving average is $105.17. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.