Focused Investors LLC Has $168.68 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Focused Investors LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,618,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,500 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 5.1% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $168,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 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 raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $1.63 on Friday, hitting $134.06. The company had a trading volume of 7,281,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,803,987. The company's fifty day moving average price is $112.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.84. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $134.91. 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 has a market cap of $215.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

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.