Morgan Stanley $MS Stock: Keybank National Association OH Decreases Position

Keybank National Association OH lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,674 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 41,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,879,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the third quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the third quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,467,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.7% in the third quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 59,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,198,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Vinyl Equity acquisition would add digital share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping capabilities, connecting companies’ equity administration needs with the firm’s workplace and wealth-management services. The strategic rationale is to deepen relationships with private companies and potentially retain more client assets through IPO transitions. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction may be nearing its end, while advising investors to remain selective. A market rebound could support trading and investment-banking activity, but this is a broad-market view rather than a company-specific forecast. Morgan Stanley strategist on market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith A. Miscik disclosed selling 2,480 Morgan Stanley shares for about $454,000, reducing her holdings by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, though its size is limited relative to her remaining stake. SEC filing of director share sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

MS stock opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $293.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Judith A. Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,764,830.15. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.