Stephen J. Luczo Sells 60,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,852,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,119,605. The firm's 50 day moving average is $102.86 and its 200 day moving average is $99.10. The company has a market cap of $196.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 430,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,877,000 after buying an additional 5,774 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,077,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,536,000 after buying an additional 343,234 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 6,373 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 34,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,622,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.56.

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.

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