Allworth Financial LP Has $15 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Allworth Financial LP nearly doubled its Morgan Stanley stake in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 41,773 shares to bring its total holding to 84,489 shares worth about $15 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 16% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, implying an annualized payout of $4.00 and a 2.1% yield, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $206.26.

Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 97.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,543,831,000 after buying an additional 354,871 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $194.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $306.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $123.88 and a 52-week high of $197.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's fifty day moving average is $175.04 and its 200-day moving average is $174.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 outlook to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling confidence in the broader equity backdrop and the bank’s market strategy. Article: The stock market doesn’t need Fed cuts, says Morgan Stanley as it rachets S&P 500 view higher
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is being cited in several bullish sector calls, including bullish commentary on Ford and other stocks, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a leading voice in equity research and capital markets. Article: Ford's Best 2-Day Rally Since 2020: History Says A 200% Year Could Follow
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also tied to a new digital bond-market initiative through LTX, suggesting continued investment in electronic fixed-income trading infrastructure rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article: Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Dbs Bank increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.