Donoghue Forlines LLC Has $4.03 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its Morgan Stanley stake by 134.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 22,703 shares valued at about $4.03 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations; shares were also trading near their 52-week high at $194.40.
• The company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend payable on May 15, while analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $206.26.

Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 134.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,019 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.2% of Donoghue Forlines LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Donoghue Forlines LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 outlook to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling confidence in the broader equity backdrop and the bank’s market strategy. Article: The stock market doesn’t need Fed cuts, says Morgan Stanley as it rachets S&P 500 view higher
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is being cited in several bullish sector calls, including bullish commentary on Ford and other stocks, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a leading voice in equity research and capital markets. Article: Ford's Best 2-Day Rally Since 2020: History Says A 200% Year Could Follow
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also tied to a new digital bond-market initiative through LTX, suggesting continued investment in electronic fixed-income trading infrastructure rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article: Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

MS opened at $194.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $197.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

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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