Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 28,138 shares worth about $5.0 million. Institutional investors still own a large majority of the company, at 84.19%.
• Morgan Stanley has several positive business developments, including being selected with Goldman Sachs to lead Anthropic’s IPO and expanding its wealth-management platform to allow external AI agents to connect to stock administration tools.
• The bank recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.43 EPS versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58 billion versus $19.23 billion expected. It also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a 1.9% annualized yield.

World Investment Advisors raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,272 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was selected, along with Goldman Sachs, to lead Anthropic’s IPO, which could add a high-profile underwriting win if the deal launches later this year. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Land Anthropic IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management arm is expanding its tech offering by allowing external AI agents to connect to stock administration platforms, which may support efficiency and client growth over time. Morgan Stanley will soon open its trillion-dollar wealth management funnel to AI agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also participated in a $33 million growth financing for Subtle Medical through its Expansion Capital unit, reinforcing ongoing private-market investing activity. Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital Leads $33 Million Growth Financing For Subtle Medical
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm also showed up in market commentary on FX and equities, but these notes were macro-focused rather than direct earnings or guidance news for MS. Warsh’s Fed Debut Is a Key Risk for FX, Morgan Stanley Says
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being weighed by a recent market update showing MS closed lower in the latest session, reinforcing the downtrend investors are seeing today. Morgan Stanley (MS) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $210.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $127.34 and a 52-week high of $217.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $186.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.43. The company has a market capitalization of $332.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during 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%.The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley 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. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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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