Aureus Asset Management LLC Has $5.96 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $78.21 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $212.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.29 and its 200 day moving average is $106.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MS. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.