Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Makes New $4.72 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac disclosed a new stake in Morgan Stanley, buying 26,570 shares worth about $4.72 million in the fourth quarter.
• Morgan Stanley beat Wall Street expectations in its latest quarterly results, posting $3.43 EPS versus the $3.02 estimate and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of about $205.95, while Morgan Stanley also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,717,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

MS opened at $203.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $182.79 and its 200 day moving average is $177.18. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $204.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continued to benefit from strong recent earnings, with the company having recently beaten consensus on both EPS and revenue, reinforcing confidence in its operating performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted “record revenue” and rising dividends, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock’s valuation. Record Revenue, Rising Dividends—So Why Aren't Analysts Saying Buy? (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, including multiple buy-equivalent ratings and a recent price target of $610 from Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia on Broadcom-related coverage, which reflects the firm’s continued visibility across key growth themes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles mention Morgan Stanley in connection with broader market calls and conference sponsorships, which are not direct catalysts for MS shares but keep the firm in the headlines.

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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