Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 968,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,327 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.7% of Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $121,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,097,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,185,284. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.02. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $205.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.80.

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 dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.