Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MS traded up $1.14 on Monday, reaching $135.20. The stock had a trading volume of 327,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,062,763. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.55 and a 200 day moving average of $103.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $217.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $135.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid 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 2.74%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

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.