Moment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.2% of Moment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,925,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,473,000 after buying an additional 159,065 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 10,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,893 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 561,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,636,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $122.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.