SG Trading Solutions LLC Buys Shares of 7,918 Morgan Stanley $MS

SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 7,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Ridgeback Group agreed to buy Metra Living for £1.045 billion, expanding MS into U.K. rental housing and underscoring its private-markets and real estate growth strategy. Morgan Stanley (MS) Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Morgan Stanley is also benefiting from renewed investor enthusiasm for banks, with the broader financial sector hitting records ahead of the Fed meeting, which is helping support MS sentiment. Big Bank Stocks Hit Records Ahead of Fed Meeting
• Positive Sentiment: News flow continues to frame MS as a long-term growth and wealth-management winner, with commentary highlighting its ambition to reach $10 trillion in client assets and potential upside from a future SpaceX IPO mandate. Morgan Stanley (MS) Is Chasing $10 Trillion In Wealth And A SpaceX Boost
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Morgan Stanley today were mostly research-related, including notes on oil and sector calls, which are more likely to affect sentiment around specific industries than MS’s core earnings outlook.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $223.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $130.90 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.49.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. CICC Research increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.