Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

by · The Markets Daily

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,513 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $215.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.55 and a 200-day moving average of $103.75. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $134.91.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.29.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MS

Morgan Stanley Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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