Graypoint LLC Acquires 487 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the period. PFG Advisors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.5% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 81.2% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 111,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,452,000 after acquiring an additional 49,729 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.6% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $129.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $73.96 and a fifty-two week high of $133.52. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $109.23 and a 200 day moving average of $102.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results 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 12.69% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on 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 target price 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, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.