Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 7,359,377 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,171,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,359,377 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.93% of Morgan Stanley worth $3,249,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $129.96. The stock had a trading volume of 5,013,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,083,265. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $79.62 and a one year high of $136.24. The firm has a market cap of $209.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.80.

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.