Sciencast Management LP Invests $3.05 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 24,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,046,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.33.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded down $3.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $122.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,081,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,217,626. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $130.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.