15,614 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Acquired by CPC Advisors LLC

Key Points

• CPC Advisors LLC disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Morgan Stanley, buying 15,614 shares worth about $2.57 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong Q1 results, with EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both above analyst estimates and up 16% year over year.
• The company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equal to a $4.00 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $206.35.

CPC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MS opened at $223.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $199.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $130.90 and a 12 month high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm, together with Ridgeback Group, agreed to acquire Metra Living, a UK private rental business, for about £1.045 billion. The deal expands MS into residential rental assets and highlights its ability to deploy capital into new fee-generating businesses. Morgan Stanley Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Morgan Stanley’s strong recent operating results: the firm posted Q1 EPS of $3.43, topping estimates, and revenue of $20.58 billion, also ahead of expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 16%. That supports the view that fundamentals remain solid after the stock’s big run. Morgan Stanley stock performance and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley is part of the bank group working on possible OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs adds another potential catalyst, since high-profile tech listings could boost advisory and capital markets fees if they move forward. OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs Spark Battle Between Goldman And Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces also frame MS as a long-term momentum name and note that the stock has been trading near its highs, which may be attracting trend-following buyers rather than pointing to a single new catalyst. Why Morgan Stanley is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.35.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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