Ethic Inc. Has $34.96 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,282 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.5% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE MS opened at $192.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.64. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $121.46 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business'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 firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: DBS Bank raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $220 from $185, signaling more upside potential. DBS Bank price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, while keeping a Buy rating, reinforcing confidence in longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also increased its Morgan Stanley price target to $214 from $196, adding to the wave of bullish revisions. UBS price target update

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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