Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 926 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $23,540,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $2,189,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $2,660,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $1,927,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $134.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $135.67. The stock has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. 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.