Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 211,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.4% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,305,000 after acquiring an additional 119,633 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 16,507 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $119.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $193.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $121.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.88.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.