Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s 10th Largest Position

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 2.7% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $124.67. 2,915,851 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,234,672. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week 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.

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 net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.