Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 26.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,402 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Partners Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,854,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after buying an additional 30,010 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after buying an additional 28,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,635,000 after buying an additional 287,056 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about MS:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer-agent platform. The deal would add share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping services to Morgan Stanley at Work, potentially strengthening workplace and wealth-management relationships and helping the firm retain clients as private companies go public. Sidley Represents Morgan Stanley in Its Acquisition of Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the market correction may be nearing its end but urged selectivity. A recovery could benefit trading and investment-banking activity, although this is a broad market view rather than a specific forecast for MS. Morgan Stanley strategist on the market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares for about $454,000, trimming her stake by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, but she retained more than 64,000 shares, limiting its significance. Morgan Stanley director share sale

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total transaction of $454,360.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,764,830.15. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

MS stock opened at $190.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $297.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.