Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,383,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 20.7% during the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 1,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.56.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0 %

MS stock opened at $118.31 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $104.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.75. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $121.45. The company has a market cap of $192.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 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.