A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 975 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 975 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.6% of A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,621,140,000 after buying an additional 269,633 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,970,000 after acquiring an additional 212,551 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,573,000 after purchasing an additional 242,896 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,263,000 after purchasing an additional 385,780 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.6 %

MS stock traded down $4.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,863,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,070,432. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.