Convergence Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,182,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,078,000. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 52,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,606,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $84.43 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.