Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 35,289 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 37.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,289 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,040,227,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $295,482,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $110,938,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 89.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,410,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,092,000 after acquiring an additional 666,754 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith A. Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $152.80 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $194.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.81.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Vinyl Equity acquisition would add digital share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping capabilities, connecting companies’ equity administration needs with the firm’s workplace and wealth-management services. The strategic rationale is to deepen relationships with private companies and potentially retain more client assets through IPO transitions. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction may be nearing its end, while advising investors to remain selective. A market rebound could support trading and investment-banking activity, but this is a broad-market view rather than a company-specific forecast. Morgan Stanley strategist on market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith A. Miscik disclosed selling 2,480 Morgan Stanley shares for about $454,000, reducing her holdings by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, though its size is limited relative to her remaining stake. SEC filing of director share sale

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.