TCG Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TCG Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 335.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 131,071 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.1% of TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.87. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.