New Vernon Investment Management LLC Has $3.47 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 223.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,074 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 2.1% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE MS traded down $0.91 on Wednesday, reaching $114.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,546,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,645,427. The firm has a market cap of $184.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $116.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.50.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.