Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 43,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,000 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $51,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 14,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,569,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,902,000. Garde Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.9% in the third quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 31.4% during the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.5% during the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 18,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $185.97 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $196.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.33. The company has a market capitalization of $293.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $236 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the reference price in the report. UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching a $2.3 billion Baldwin debt offering. The deal may provide underwriting activity and related fee revenue, although the article listing offers limited detail. Morgan Stanley launches Baldwin debt offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market outlook is divided: one strategist sees the election as a potential “clearing event” that could help the selloff end, while other reports flag risks from election uncertainty and fragile technology-stock buying. The outlook matters to MS because market moves can affect trading and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley flags a stock-market turning point
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across market sectors; the announcement provides no specific indication of a direct financial impact on MS. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists have warned that the S&P 500 could face further losses, with one report citing a possible 9% decline and another describing three potential “clearing events.” Persistent volatility could curb investor activity and pressure market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley warns the S&P 500 could drop

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.