Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 812 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,159,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,718,000 after acquiring an additional 415,531 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,070,528,000 after acquiring an additional 277,909 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,082,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,067,000 after acquiring an additional 483,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,672,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,913,000 after purchasing an additional 766,530 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $92.10 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.07.

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.