Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 534,708 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 534,708 additional shares and bringing its holding to 27.07 million shares worth about $4.79 billion.
• Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $3.43 versus estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion versus $19.23 billion expected. Revenue rose 16% year over year, and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: analysts assign Morgan Stanley a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $205.95, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional ownership remains high at 84.19%.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 534,708 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.70% of Morgan Stanley worth $4,786,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,326,000 after buying an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,267,847,000 after buying an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $201.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $203.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.88. The stock has a market cap of $318.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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. 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 currently owned by insiders.

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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