Circle Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Circle Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 150,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 122,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,811,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 53.0% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 367,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,242,000 after acquiring an additional 127,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MS opened at $131.61 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $78.21 and a 12 month high of $136.24. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $119.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.42. The stock has a market cap of $212.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. 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 currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.00.

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.