Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Has $56.31 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 317,190 shares worth about $56.3 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 16% year over year.
• The company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annualized), and analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $205.95.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,616 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $56,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% 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’s analysts were cited in several bullish calls across equities, including upgrades/positive views that helped lift sentiment in names like AppLovin, Semtech, and others, highlighting the firm’s influence and strong research franchise. AppLovin Stock (APP) Jumps 11% after Bullish Morgan Stanley Call
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its S&P 500 target on expectations for AI-driven earnings growth, adding to the broader market’s constructive backdrop for large financial firms like Morgan Stanley. Goldman Raises S&P 500 Target, Sees 17% Upside This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Published commentary said Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing regulators to reconsider an exemption that helped Morgan Stanley integrate its German investment bank into its U.S. holding company, which could increase regulatory scrutiny but does not yet amount to a direct financial hit. Warren Scrutiny Of German Unit Exemption Tests Morgan Stanley Valuation Narrative

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $201.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.88. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $203.92.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.