Voleon Capital Management LP Takes $7.90 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 62,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,902,000.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $3.47 on Friday, reaching $120.23. 6,894,394 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,692,404. The business's 50-day moving average is $115.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of 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 target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

About Morgan Stanley

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.