Continuum Advisory LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the third quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.1% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 422,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000,000 after buying an additional 61,682 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 289,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,168,000 after buying an additional 38,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $126.80 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $81.96 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $204.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.72.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.80.

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.