Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wharton Business Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wharton Business Group LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.8% during the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 68,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,095,000 after buying an additional 29,783 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $598,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 25,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $135.20. 327,339 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,062,763. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $135.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.93. The firm has a market cap of $217.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded 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 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.29.

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.