Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 1,957 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,957 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 12,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $135.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.93. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $135.38.

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. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

About Morgan Stanley

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.