Cinctive Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 60,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,623,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $115.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.23. 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 has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.73.

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.