Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 45.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,674 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $127.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $136.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.45.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.80.

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.