39,442 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter, buying 39,442 shares worth about $7.0 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.43 per share and revenue of $20.58 billion, both above analyst expectations and up 16% from a year earlier.
• The company also continued rewarding shareholders and drawing analyst support, paying a $1.00 quarterly dividend and seeing multiple price-target hikes that left Wall Street with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $206.26.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,002,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 2,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $1,872,000. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $5,896,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Finally, Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $192.51 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $175.54 and its 200-day moving average is $174.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $197.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

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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