4,664 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Purchased by Goldstone Financial Group LLC

Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $117.94 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $70.27 and a twelve month high of $121.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.