Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% during the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,070,000 after acquiring an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $579,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $131.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $78.21 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.