Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,106,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
Morgan Stanley stock opened at $197.70 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $177.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.58. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $198.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $311.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for 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%.Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.95.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley
Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly one of the lead banks working with OpenAI on a confidential IPO filing, positioning the firm to benefit from underwriting, advisory, and related capital-markets fees if the deal moves forward. OpenAI readies IPO filing to list as soon as September
- Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s involvement in AI-related dealmaking and broader technology M&A, reinforcing the view that the bank is well positioned to capture activity tied to the AI investment cycle. Morgan Stanley Sees AI Deals Spreading Across Chips, Power, and Data Centers
- Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines were mostly commentary or positioning updates, including notes on Morgan Stanley’s outlook for Fed rate cuts and its tighter device/security policy for China travel, which are unlikely to move the stock on their own.
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).
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