Stratos Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. 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 report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MS opened at $121.07 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.29. The company has a market capitalization of $196.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.