GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 4,924 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $257,000. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.3% during the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 19,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $122,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.6% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 5,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.69. 4,968,733 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,082,100. 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 $76.33 and a 12 month high of $135.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $113.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.