Catalyst Investment Management LLC Invests $844,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Catalyst Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cambient Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $737,000. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $763,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 23,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,090,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Ridgeback Group agreed to buy Metra Living for £1.045 billion, expanding MS into U.K. rental housing and underscoring its private-markets and real estate growth strategy. Morgan Stanley (MS) Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Morgan Stanley is also benefiting from renewed investor enthusiasm for banks, with the broader financial sector hitting records ahead of the Fed meeting, which is helping support MS sentiment. Big Bank Stocks Hit Records Ahead of Fed Meeting
• Positive Sentiment: News flow continues to frame MS as a long-term growth and wealth-management winner, with commentary highlighting its ambition to reach $10 trillion in client assets and potential upside from a future SpaceX IPO mandate. Morgan Stanley (MS) Is Chasing $10 Trillion In Wealth And A SpaceX Boost
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Morgan Stanley today were mostly research-related, including notes on oil and sector calls, which are more likely to affect sentiment around specific industries than MS’s core earnings outlook.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:MS opened at $223.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $130.90 and a 1-year high of $230.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.