Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd sharply increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 550.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 193,205 shares valued at about $34.3 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently posted strong quarterly results, beating expectations with EPS of $3.43 on revenue of $20.58 billion, while revenue rose 16% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $206.26.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 550.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 163,487 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 outlook to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling confidence in the broader equity backdrop and the bank’s market strategy. Article: The stock market doesn’t need Fed cuts, says Morgan Stanley as it rachets S&P 500 view higher
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is being cited in several bullish sector calls, including bullish commentary on Ford and other stocks, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a leading voice in equity research and capital markets. Article: Ford's Best 2-Day Rally Since 2020: History Says A 200% Year Could Follow
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also tied to a new digital bond-market initiative through LTX, suggesting continued investment in electronic fixed-income trading infrastructure rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article: Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 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.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

MS stock opened at $194.40 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $123.88 and a 52-week high of $197.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $306.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $175.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.78.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reduced their target price 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. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating 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 note on Monday, April 20th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.26.

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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