Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 16,465 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,465 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $129.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $207.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.68 and a 200-day moving average of $108.76.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

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.