Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 186.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,772 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $143.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $229.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $145.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $131.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.60.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

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