Logan Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Logan Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,516 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $43,850,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MS opened at $127.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $205.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG 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’s 50 day moving average is $124.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for 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%. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 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.