GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 1,840 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after acquiring an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $124.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.