Conning Inc. Has $37.14 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 18% in the first quarter, buying 34,395 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 225,677 shares worth about $37.14 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.43 per share and revenue of $20.58 billion, both beating analyst estimates and showing 16% revenue growth year over year.
• The company also authorized a $20 billion share buyback and maintained a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, signaling confidence in its stock and returning cash to shareholders.

Conning Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,395 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced it entered exclusivity to acquire a majority stake in Nicollin Environnement, a French environmental services company. The move highlights MS’s private-markets and infrastructure investing capabilities beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Nicollin Environnement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continued to frame Morgan Stanley as a beneficiary of strong banking results heading into Q2 earnings season, with bank earnings generally expected to be solid and supporting sentiment for large financial stocks like MS. Bank Earnings Look Strong Ahead of Q2: ETFs in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary said Morgan Stanley warned that the AI chip rally may be losing momentum, but this is more a macro/sector view than a direct catalyst for MS shares. Morgan Stanley warns AI chip rally may be running out of steam

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $222.21 on Friday. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.26. The company has a market capitalization of $350.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $230.47.

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. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.20.

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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