AXQ Capital LP Takes $1.55 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Morgan Stanley, buying 8,742 shares worth about $1.55 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 versus estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, while analysts remain mixed overall with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $205.95.

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,552,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $211.07 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $184.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.79. 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 stock has a market cap of $332.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $126.36 and a fifty-two week high of $212.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s oil-market commentary suggests prolonged supply disruption risk, which keeps investors focused on macro trading opportunities and broader market volatility that can benefit big investment banks. Morgan Stanley (MS) Says It’ll Take Four Months for Middle East Oil Production to Recover
• Positive Sentiment: MS has also been trading near its 52-week high, reflecting strong momentum and continued investor confidence after a better-than-expected earnings report earlier this year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

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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