Stephens Inc. AR Buys 1,972 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 2,981 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 411.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 76,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,167,000 after buying an additional 61,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 17,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $116.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $107.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $71.65 and a 12-month high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

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.