Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 699 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 699 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $117.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $70.27 and a 12-month high of $121.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.86.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

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.