Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.36 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,036 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,058 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 433.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,392,000 after purchasing an additional 633,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $43,850,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE MS opened at $116.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day moving average of $100.01.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus 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.