Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.81.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $133.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.83 and its 200-day moving average is $105.55. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.