Groupama Asset Managment Sells 8,080 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Groupama Asset Managment decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,080 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted 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. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $129.96 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $79.62 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.51. The company has a market cap of $209.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.80.

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.