ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Sells 5,578 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• ABN AMRO Bank N.V. reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,578 shares and leaving it with 291,186 shares valued at about $51.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 16% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share and has recently seen insider selling, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $206.26.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 291,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,578 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $51,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $192.99 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $121.46 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The stock has a market cap of $304.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.64.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be 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 is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: DBS Bank raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $220 from $185, signaling more upside potential. DBS Bank price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, while keeping a Buy rating, reinforcing confidence in longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also increased its Morgan Stanley price target to $214 from $196, adding to the wave of bullish revisions. UBS price target update

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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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