Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 594,041 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $257,000. LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.3% in the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 19,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.6% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 5,194 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,124,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,082,100. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $135.51. The firm has a market cap of $212.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $113.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.29.

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.