Everpar Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 328.0% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 11,295 shares in the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $539,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,820,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $815,908,000 after purchasing an additional 383,211 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $95.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,662,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,411,363. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.69 and its 200-day moving average is $86.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $96.05.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Cfra lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.