Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Sells 5,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $194.14 and a 200 day moving average of $194.35. The company has a market capitalization of $293.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Vinyl Equity acquisition would add digital share-transfer and shareholder-recordkeeping capabilities, connecting companies’ equity administration needs with the firm’s workplace and wealth-management services. The strategic rationale is to deepen relationships with private companies and potentially retain more client assets through IPO transitions. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction may be nearing its end, while advising investors to remain selective. A market rebound could support trading and investment-banking activity, but this is a broad-market view rather than a company-specific forecast. Morgan Stanley strategist on market correction
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judith A. Miscik disclosed selling 2,480 Morgan Stanley shares for about $454,000, reducing her holdings by 3.72%. The sale may weigh slightly on sentiment, though its size is limited relative to her remaining stake. SEC filing of director share sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Judith A. Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the sale, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.