Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 31,516 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 31,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,962,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 30,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $139.88 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.