Stevens Capital Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,863 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $232,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business'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 directly owns 138,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $129.90. The stock had a trading volume of 5,013,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,026,582. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $79.62 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $209.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 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 the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.80.

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.