Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Buys 2,875 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MS traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $92.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,550,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,521,507. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.72. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

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.