STAR Financial Bank Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

STAR Financial Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 688 shares during the quarter. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $135.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.