DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $2.88 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,853 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $181.98 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $182.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $168.99 and its 200-day moving average is $154.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.77.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.