Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 73,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after purchasing an additional 303,654 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after purchasing an additional 212,551 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,573,000 after purchasing an additional 242,896 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $672,969,000 after purchasing an additional 57,104 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was 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 available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $116.85 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year 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. The company has a market cap of $189.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $105.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.01.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

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.