Cinctive Capital Management LP Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 60,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,623,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $8.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.75. 18,867,354 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,652,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The business's fifty day moving average price is $127.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.87.

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.