Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $118.12 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer sharply increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 10,167% in the fourth quarter, ending with 664,173 shares valued at about $118.1 million.
• Morgan Stanley saw mixed insider activity, with executives Eric F. Grossman and Andrew M. Saperstein selling shares, and insiders selling 77,476 shares worth about $14.6 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $206.26 average target, while the company recently posted better-than-expected earnings and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10,167.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 664,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 657,704 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $118,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 forecast to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling a constructive view on equities and supporting sentiment around the firm. Morgan Stanley says S&P 500 can reach 8,300 in 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: The bank’s MSBT spot Bitcoin ETF reportedly posted strong first-month inflows and no outflows, suggesting healthy demand for Morgan Stanley-linked investment products. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Bitcoin ETF Sees Zero Outflows in First Month
• Positive Sentiment: Recent brokerage commentary on other holdings and market strategy has kept Morgan Stanley in the spotlight as a go-to source for top-down equity views. Here’s Why Morgan Stanley (MS) Remains Bullish on Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity was mixed earlier in the week, with Citi lifting its price target to $194 while keeping a Neutral rating, which is supportive but not a strong catalyst by itself. Citi Raises Morgan Stanley (MS) Price Target Following Coverage Transfer
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, media coverage around Morgan Stanley’s macro calls on inflation, the yuan, and global growth keeps the bank visible, but those items are more about commentary than a direct earnings driver for MS shares. Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $193.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.57. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $194.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.

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