Granite Group Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Granite Group Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.4% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after buying an additional 1,116,058 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 433.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,392,000 after buying an additional 633,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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 their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.56. 634,781 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,072,685. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.92. The firm has a market cap of $208.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $73.96 and a 1-year high of $133.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

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.