Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 2,834 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.9% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after acquiring an additional 6,370 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $116.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $70.27 and a twelve month high of $121.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.97.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

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.