Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $170,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 36.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 16,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.8% during the third quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 64,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $370,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $640,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 36.3% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 5,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $494,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 118,558 shares in the company, valued at $11,500,126. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $4,358,515.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 348,531 shares in the company, valued at $33,824,933.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 5,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $494,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 118,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,500,126. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 317,143 shares of company stock valued at $30,730,910. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 11.99%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 50.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $88.75 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Cfra reissued a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.28.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.

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