Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 198,344 shares valued at about $35.2 million.
• Morgan Stanley’s recent operating results were solid, with Q1 EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations; the company also posted year-over-year revenue growth of 16%.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, and recent reports included higher price targets from firms like UBS and Barclays, while Morgan Stanley also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,591 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named a lead underwriter for Anthropic’s IPO, reinforcing its position in major capital-markets mandates. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Land Anthropic IPO
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also expanded its wealth-management/crypto offering through a referral arrangement with Galaxy Digital, which could support longer-term client engagement and product breadth. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Galaxy Digital Announce Referral Capability for In-Kind Creation of Spot Crypto ETP Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Management continues to see strong opportunities in selected financials names, including a recent positive stance on peers such as UnitedHealth and other coverage names, underscoring active analyst engagement across the franchise. UnitedHealth Positioned As AI Leader: Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Media attention around Morgan Stanley’s bullish SpaceX revenue outlook and related IPO coverage keeps the firm in the spotlight, but this is more of a longer-dated franchise story than an immediate earnings driver. Market Chatter: Morgan Stanley Projects SpaceX's Revenue Reaching $3.4 Trillion in 2040

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $212.44 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $128.81 and a one year high of $219.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $188.81 and a 200-day moving average of $179.05. The company has a market capitalization of $335.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Argus upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley 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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