FCG Investment Co Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6 %

MS traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $100.20. 3,111,960 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,510,746. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.98. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25. The stock has a market cap of $162.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MS shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.48.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.