Voleon Capital Management LP Buys New Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,902,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $116.19 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.55 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. 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.