Capital Investment Counsel Inc Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $1,383,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $94,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.2% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $118.28 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $121.45. The stock has a market cap of $192.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.88.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Barclays raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

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.