Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,783 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 68,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,095,000 after purchasing an additional 29,783 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $598,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 25,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% in the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 36,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,709 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.06 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $134.91. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.93. The company has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 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 predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.29.

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.