SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Buys 1,647 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $7,623,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $523,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 212.0% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 251,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,613,000 after purchasing an additional 170,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $115.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $186.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.