Great Diamond Partners LLC Has $1.49 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,726 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,058 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 433.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,392,000 after purchasing an additional 633,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $43,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MS opened at $119.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.74. The firm has a market cap of $194.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.