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

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 28,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,660,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.18.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,253,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,618,374. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.34. The company has a market capitalization of $168.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

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.