BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 192 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after purchasing an additional 119,633 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 16,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $118.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.66 and its 200 day moving average is $99.88. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $121.45. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

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.