GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 12,318.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Morgan Stanley worth $320,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $128.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,607,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,693,641. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.49 and a 200 day moving average of $125.31. The company has a market cap of $205.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.