Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% in Q4 to 334,841 shares, valued at approximately $59.44 million and comprising about 1.1% of its portfolio (its 28th largest holding).
• Insiders sold 129,191 shares totaling about $23.74 million in the last 90 days, including CFO Sharon Yeshaya (15,838 shares) and Daniel A. Simkowitz (32,968 shares), leaving insiders with roughly 0.17% ownership.
• The stock carries a market consensus of "Hold" with an average price target of $189.94; Morgan Stanley recently beat Q4 EPS expectations ($2.68 vs. $2.28) and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00, ~2.2% yield).

Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,005 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.1% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $59,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,043,000 after buying an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MS opened at $183.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $104.78 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary — Jim Cramer flagged Morgan Stanley as likely to report a strong quarter, which can attract short-term buyer flows ahead of earnings. Jim Cramer on Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Street experts calling for upside — CNBC / market commentators featured Morgan Stanley among names expected to perform, supporting intraday demand. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, CBRE Group and more on CNBC's 'Final Trades'
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s crypto product push (Bitcoin ETF) raises fee and product-growth expectations — the firm’s recent ETF activity is getting press and may boost investor sentiment about new fee streams. Bitcoin News: Morgan Stanley Just Launched the Cheapest Bitcoin ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings are the main catalyst — multiple previews and analyst notes (Zacks, Yahoo) highlight Q1 results due tomorrow; expectations and trading/investment-banking strength are why investors are positioning, but outcomes remain binary. Morgan Stanley Q1 Earnings Report Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning & macro research from MS itself — Morgan Stanley strategists (and others) saying the S&P pullback is largely over can lift broad risk appetite, indirectly helping bank stocks including MS. S&P 500 Correction is ‘Largely Over,’ Says Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / macro risk could still pressure trading and markets — headlines about Iran/Strait of Hormuz tensions and rising oil pushed futures lower earlier, a reminder that MS’s trading revenues are sensitive to market volatility direction. Stock Futures Down, Oil Rises as US Plans Blockade of Iranian Ports

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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