L & S Advisors Inc Takes $5.90 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter, buying 33,211 shares valued at about $5.9 million.
• Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $3.43 versus $3.02 estimated and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $206.26, while the shares recently traded around $192.51.

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,896,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $192.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $123.88 and a 52-week high of $197.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.91. The firm has a market cap of $303.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.45 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently 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.

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