Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by SageView Advisory Group LLC

SageView Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,228 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $25,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings 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 worth $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% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 238,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,176,000 after buying an additional 18,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Hampshire Trust acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.96. The company had a trading volume of 5,013,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,083,265. 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 capitalization of $209.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $122.00 and its 200 day moving average is $107.46. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $79.62 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.27 billion. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.