Brown Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Brown Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 588.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 14,721 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,656,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,630,000 after purchasing an additional 247,171 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 57,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares in the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% in the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 50,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $212.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.68. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $135.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.94.

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.