Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 60.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 385,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 594,041 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $40,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd 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. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $132.21 on Wednesday. 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 has a market cap of $213.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $113.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.49. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $135.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 2.80%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

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.