Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $12.88 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,291 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.75. 6,134,271 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,091,098. The firm has a market cap of $213.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 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. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $134.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.05.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. 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.