Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,013 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $223,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $119.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,816,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,067,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $121.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.28. The company has a market capitalization of $194.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

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.