Two Sigma Investments LP Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 426.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,347 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company’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 value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $126.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.76 and a 200 day moving average of $125.47. The company has a market cap of $202.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

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.