Bayesian Capital Management LP Takes $2.66 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,660,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Union Savings Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Cfra lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.44. 4,253,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,618,374. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $168.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.