NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 18,565 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,565 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during 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. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $115.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,757,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,129,286. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.97. 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 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $185.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.53.

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.