Acropolis Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $131.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $212.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $78.21 and a 1-year high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.