Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 53,061 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,061 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $164.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.28. The stock has a market cap of $262.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $167.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.