Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Integrity Alliance LLC.

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC boosted its Morgan Stanley stake by 151.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 8,413 shares valued at about $1.49 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including Andrew M. Saperstein and Eric F. Grossman, with total insider sales reaching 77,476 shares worth about $14.6 million over the last 90 days.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $3.43 on revenue of $20.58 billion, while analysts remain generally positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $205.95.

Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 151.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,063 shares during the quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $203.90 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $182.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.18. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $204.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. 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.

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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