Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 4,618 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,387,000 after buying an additional 303,654 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the second 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $672,969,000 after acquiring an additional 57,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

MS stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $135.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.16 and a 200 day moving average of $105.17.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.