Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,915 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.8% of Iowa State Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $177.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.75. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $181.98. The stock has a market cap of $282.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.