Sciencast Management LP Takes $3.05 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $120.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $193.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.60.

Morgan Stanley 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.