Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.9% of Certuity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cfra raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $91.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,757,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,602,170. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.