Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,745 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% during the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 99.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 4,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 238,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,176,000 after buying an additional 18,009 shares during the period. Finally, New Hampshire Trust purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $129.96. 5,013,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,083,265. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $122.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.46. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $79.62 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company has a market capitalization of $209.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. 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 announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.