Optas LLC Purchases 568 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Optas LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.6% in the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 7,384 shares during the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 20,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.0% in the third quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 102,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,720,000 after acquiring an additional 11,832 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 19.1% in the third quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 8,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $116.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $71.65 and a one year high of $121.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

About Morgan Stanley

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.