Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 29.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131,176 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: CNBC traders named Morgan Stanley among their “final trades,” citing strong earnings and outlooks. Morgan Stanley, Chubb and CF Industries: CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has begun using the DTCC’s tokenization service for U.S. equities and Treasuries. The move positions the bank in emerging blockchain market infrastructure, though reports provide no detail on expected revenue or near-term financial impact. What Could Morgan Stanley (MS) Tokenization Mean For Its Role In Markets?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness in Morgan Stanley shares was described as part of a broad market selloff that dragged down major banks, with no company-specific news identified. The bank’s exposure to trading and dealmaking could make it sensitive if market activity cools. Morgan Stanley Sinks 6%, Goldman Down 6%, Citi Down 5% as Market Selloff Drags Wall Street Banks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. HSBC lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $181.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $152.80 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.31. The stock has a market cap of $286.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

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.

Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley serves clients in the United States and across international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.