Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $116.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $70.27 and a 12-month high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.97.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.