New Vernon Investment Management LLC Has $3.47 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 223.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,074 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 2.1% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,067,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $259,958,000 after purchasing an additional 120,503 shares in the last quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $506,000. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 7,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 4,250,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $534,359,000 after purchasing an additional 195,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

MS stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $115.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,171,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,660,258. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.88 and a 200-day moving average of $124.73. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $186.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on 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 decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.