Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 369,542 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 369,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,460,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 9,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 622.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 48,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,549,000 after acquiring an additional 42,033 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Ashburton Jersey Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd now owns 31,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $93.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.30 and a 200 day moving average of $85.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given 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 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% 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.