Novem Group Invests $252,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $371,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. XML Financial LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,025.8% during the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 28,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after buying an additional 26,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

MS opened at $126.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $116.76 and its 200 day moving average is $125.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.