Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $36.81 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management boosted its Morgan Stanley stake by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 207,326 shares worth about $36.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both beating analyst estimates and rising from a year earlier.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a price target of $206.35.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $217.75 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $194.76 and its 200-day moving average is $181.34. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $129.66 and a 52-week high of $220.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $343.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Ted Pick highlighted a potential $10 trillion opportunity in wealth management, signaling a much larger addressable market and supporting a bullish long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent options activity showed elevated call buying in Morgan Stanley, often a sign that investors are betting on further stock gains.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s most recent quarterly results were already strong, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent headlines also show Morgan Stanley’s analysts actively moving on other names, including downgrading Accenture and raising targets on several stocks, but those reports are not direct catalysts for MS itself.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.35.

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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