Pitcairn Co. Has $2.42 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,580 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 141.0% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 6,244 shares during the period. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $23,540,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $2,189,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $2,660,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $1,927,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $135.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.16 and its 200-day moving average is $105.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.