Sivia Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,118,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MS opened at $131.89 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.18.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given 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 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

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.