MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $43,850,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $46,067,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MS opened at $126.80 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.72. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $81.96 and a 1-year high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $204.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

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.