J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 281 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $119.13 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $121.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.51.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 3.11%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.