Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Sells 40,507 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,507 shares and leaving it with 28,365 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 versus estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• The stock has rallied recently to around $211, near its 52-week high, while analysts remain split overall with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,507 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $211.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $126.36 and a 52-week high of $212.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $184.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.79. The stock has a market cap of $332.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s analysts and strategists remain active and constructive across several key themes, including AI infrastructure, cloud spending, and global growth opportunities, which can support investor confidence in the firm’s research franchise and advisory relevance.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm was cited in coverage on India equities, where Morgan Stanley reiterated a bullish long-term view despite near-term headwinds, reinforcing its reputation as a well-followed macro and market strategist. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also drew attention for bullish calls on AI-related names such as Microsoft and other large-cap tech leaders, which may be supporting optimism around the bank’s equity research and wealth management insights. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company was also mentioned in connection with a sector rotation study from E*TRADE, but that release is more informational than directly stock-moving. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Company 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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