South Plains Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,082 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,016,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $115.50 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $115.70 and its 200 day moving average is $124.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E 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 quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.73 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.