Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,387 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,387 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $134.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.