Syon Capital LLC Buys 1,006 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 79,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after buying an additional 5,772 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 24,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 51,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartline Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 25,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

MS stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.40. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.