Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 309,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131,176 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,846,000 after buying an additional 422,775 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.81.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CNBC traders named Morgan Stanley among their “final trades,” citing strong earnings and outlooks. Morgan Stanley, Chubb and CF Industries: CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has begun using the DTCC’s tokenization service for U.S. equities and Treasuries. The move positions the bank in emerging blockchain market infrastructure, though reports provide no detail on expected revenue or near-term financial impact. What Could Morgan Stanley (MS) Tokenization Mean For Its Role In Markets?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness in Morgan Stanley shares was described as part of a broad market selloff that dragged down major banks, with no company-specific news identified. The bank’s exposure to trading and dealmaking could make it sensitive if market activity cools. Morgan Stanley Sinks 6%, Goldman Down 6%, Citi Down 5% as Market Selloff Drags Wall Street Banks

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $181.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.31. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $152.80 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals.

Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.

Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley serves clients in the United States and across international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.