Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 622.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,033 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cfra boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $93.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.