Oxford Asset Management LLP Makes New $485,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.50. The stock had a trading volume of 6,500,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,663,897. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.73 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG 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. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $116.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.71.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company 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.