Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Lowered by LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 196,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.7% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.80.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MS traded down $3.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,915,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,234,672. The company has a market cap of $200.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $128.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.24. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.