S&CO Inc. Buys 3,709 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

S&CO Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,709 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $134.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.