Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,377 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $134.06 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.93. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $134.91. The company has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

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.