Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 275 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after buying an additional 119,633 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 16,507 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,558,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0 %

MS stock opened at $118.28 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $121.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.88. The company has a market capitalization of $192.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

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.