Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 88,090 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.0% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 52,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,441,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 826.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 41,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,365,000 after purchasing an additional 37,356 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $134.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.