Convergence Investment Partners LLC Sells 5,270 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,270 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $369,000. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 57.9% during the third quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $580,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 30.1% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 8,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 10,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $92.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,606,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.44. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

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.