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

TCG Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 335.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131,071 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.1% of TCG Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of 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 shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.