Morgan Stanley $MS Position Reduced by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,632 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.1% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MS opened at $181.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $289.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $182.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $168.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.49.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.77.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.