BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Buys New Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter, buying 46,945 shares valued at about $8.33 million.
• Morgan Stanley’s recent earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• The stock has been trading near its 52-week high and analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $205.95.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 46,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,334,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. COFG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $389,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC now owns 40,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,115,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 56,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,961,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 5,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $211.07 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.79. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $126.36 and a one year high of $212.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. 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 currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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