Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,653 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,040,227,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $295,482,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $135,899,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $110,938,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.81.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are a few of the latest headlines about MS:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent, bringing share-transfer and recordkeeping capabilities in-house. The deal could deepen its wealth-management services and reduce reliance on outside providers, although financial benefits may take time to emerge. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Positive Sentiment: One report noted that Morgan Stanley recorded a modest inflow while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced broad withdrawals—a relative bright spot for its digital-asset offering. Bitcoin ETF Outflows
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary questioned whether the bank’s strong three-year share-price gains and current valuation are justified by returns on capital. Its tokenization and digital-transfer initiatives may create longer-term opportunities, but their effect on profitability remains uncertain. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $190.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. 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.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,764,830.15. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.