Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 8,519 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 67.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,519 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $579,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.66. 8,998,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,248,792. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.83. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The company has a market capitalization of $200.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Eleven 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.07.

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.