GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in 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 institutional investor purchased 9,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.9 %

MS traded up $1.73 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.82. 6,392,547 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,852,011. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

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.