Allen Capital Group LLC Purchases 886 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $134.69 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $135.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.16 and a 200 day moving average of $105.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.94.

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.