Advocate Group LLC Has $8.79 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Advocate Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew 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 worth $122,581,000 after buying an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $87,558,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $85,535,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded down $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $108.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 503,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,015,309. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.36. The firm has a market cap of $175.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

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.