Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Great Diamond Partners LLC

Great Diamond Partners LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,726 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 433.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,392,000 after purchasing an additional 633,319 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $43,850,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $119.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $194.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $121.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $106.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.74.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.