Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.83 million shares valued at about $502.3 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates and up sharply from a year earlier.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield, while analysts remain broadly constructive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

National Pension Service raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,829,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 163,227 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Morgan Stanley worth $502,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $203.90 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $204.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $321.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continued to benefit from strong recent earnings, with the company having recently beaten consensus on both EPS and revenue, reinforcing confidence in its operating performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted “record revenue” and rising dividends, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock’s valuation. Record Revenue, Rising Dividends—So Why Aren't Analysts Saying Buy? (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, including multiple buy-equivalent ratings and a recent price target of $610 from Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia on Broadcom-related coverage, which reflects the firm’s continued visibility across key growth themes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles mention Morgan Stanley in connection with broader market calls and conference sponsorships, which are not direct catalysts for MS shares but keep the firm in the headlines.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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