GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,426 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MS. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $140.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $126.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.54. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.