TCW Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 467,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,404 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $43,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 7,797 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 152,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,256,000 after purchasing an additional 16,585 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 766,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,479,000 after purchasing an additional 8,593 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 177,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,568,000 after purchasing an additional 7,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moreno Evelyn V acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,995,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,592,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,138,602. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $103.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

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.