Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,400,000 after acquiring an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares in the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $8,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $125.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $200.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.60 and a 200 day moving average of $125.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Citigroup reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

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.