Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Focused Investors LLC

Key Points

• Focused Investors LLC trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.4% in the first quarter, selling 30,600 shares and leaving it with 1,228,350 shares worth about $202.15 million. Morgan Stanley remains the fund’s third-largest holding.
• Insiders have also been selling shares, including notable transactions by Andrew M. Saperstein and Eric F. Grossman. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares valued at $14.64 million, though insiders still own a small 0.17% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on MS, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35. The stock has also been supported by strong Q1 results, including EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both ahead of expectations.

Focused Investors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,228,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,600 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 6.6% of Focused Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $202,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.35.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm, together with Ridgeback Group, agreed to acquire Metra Living, a UK private rental business, for about £1.045 billion. The deal expands MS into residential rental assets and highlights its ability to deploy capital into new fee-generating businesses. Morgan Stanley Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Morgan Stanley’s strong recent operating results: the firm posted Q1 EPS of $3.43, topping estimates, and revenue of $20.58 billion, also ahead of expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 16%. That supports the view that fundamentals remain solid after the stock’s big run. Morgan Stanley stock performance and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley is part of the bank group working on possible OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs adds another potential catalyst, since high-profile tech listings could boost advisory and capital markets fees if they move forward. OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs Spark Battle Between Goldman And Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces also frame MS as a long-term momentum name and note that the stock has been trading near its highs, which may be attracting trend-following buyers rather than pointing to a single new catalyst. Why Morgan Stanley is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $223.69 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $199.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $130.90 and a fifty-two week high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

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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