Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,875 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,875 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $128.60 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $82.57 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $122.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.72. The company has a market capitalization of $207.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

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.