XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Broyhill Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $461,000. CM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 18,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 727,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,448,000 after buying an additional 31,963 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $3.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,179,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,632,943. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $177.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 50-day moving average of $118.91 and a 200-day moving average of $124.57.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.