Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Lowered by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,458 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 29,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $119.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $193.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $121.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.88.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley 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 value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.