Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,510 shares to bring its total to 138,177 shares valued at about $24.5 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong first-quarter results, posting EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 estimate and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• Despite some mixed analyst views and insider selling, the stock has strong institutional support and a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with a consensus price target of $205.95.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value 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 represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

MS stock opened at $207.74 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $208.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

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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