Sepio Capital LP Has $285,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sepio Capital LP increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Union Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $98.97. 3,550,530 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,577,264. 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 one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $103.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.63.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.