SG Trading Solutions LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after buying an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after acquiring an additional 534,708 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after acquiring an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $223.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $198.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.49. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $130.90 and a 1-year high of $230.47. The company has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.