Prudential PLC Sells 6,756 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Prudential PLC trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,756 shares and ending with 117,598 shares worth about $20.9 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on MS, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95, while the stock recently traded near its 12-month high.

Prudential PLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,756 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,786,350,000 after buying an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $2,736,648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.38 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $187.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.81. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $127.34 and a 12-month high of $219.16. The firm has a market cap of $344.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was selected, along with Goldman Sachs, to lead Anthropic’s IPO, a high-profile mandate that could add meaningful investment-banking fees and highlights the firm’s strength in AI-related capital markets work. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Land Anthropic IPO
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is preparing to open parts of its stock-administration platform to external AI agents suggests the company is leaning into automation and could improve efficiency and client service in a large, recurring-fee business. Morgan Stanley will soon open its trillion-dollar wealth management funnel to AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent Morgan Stanley research calls on unrelated stocks remained constructive on AI, consumer, and industrial themes, helping reinforce the firm’s reputation as a leading market strategist and advisor. Nvidia Stock Forecast — Top Morgan Stanley Analyst Sees 34% Upside, Calls It a Top Pick
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also appeared in other market-moving coverage around rates, FX, and financials, but those pieces were more about the firm’s views than about a direct earnings or guidance change for MS. Morgan Stanley Sees Fed Discounting War in Considering Any Hike

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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