New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 11,539 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,512,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,539 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $213,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $169.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $171.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

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.