First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 6,820 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,820 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE MS traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $118.62. 1,453,988 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,050,833. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $70.27 and a 12 month high of $121.45. The company has a market cap of $192.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 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.