Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,659 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $598,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.4% during the third 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 period. S&CO Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 36,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,709 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 66,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,971,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $133.78. 6,356,395 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,090,143. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $135.51. The company has a market capitalization of $215.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $113.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 2.77%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.29.

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.