Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 4.5% in the first quarter, ending with 9.79 million shares worth about $1.61 billion.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 versus the $2.89 estimate and revenue of $21.35 billion, up 27.1% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $20 billion share repurchase plan and raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, signaling confidence in future cash generation.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 422,775 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.62% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,611,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. 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: Equities trading and investment banking both came in strong, helping drive the earnings beat and record profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth management and investment management also posted solid growth, reinforcing the quality of the quarter and the durability of the franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, which signals management confidence in future cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Client assets topped $10 trillion, a sign that Morgan Stanley’s wealth platform continues to scale.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market sentiment is also helping financial stocks, with cooler inflation data supporting hopes for a friendlier rate backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts have reiterated constructive views on MS and peers after strong banking-sector earnings.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $228.52 on Thursday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $210.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.27. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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