Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,376 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 385.2% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.13.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,115,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,405,089. The company has a market capitalization of $205.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. 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 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.90%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.