VCI Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• VCI Wealth Management LLC opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter, buying 12,359 shares valued at about $2.03 million.
• Morgan Stanley has seen bullish analyst activity, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.50.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also boosted shareholder returns by raising its dividend and authorizing a $20 billion share buyback.

VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. CICC Research raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Dbs Bank increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and reapproved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital strength and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Continued to highlight strength in its core franchise, with recent earnings showing strong revenue and profit growth and analysts still expecting double-digit earnings growth into the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles also quote Morgan Stanley strategists and analysts on broader market themes, including the tech selloff and AI trade, but these comments are not direct operating updates for MS.
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit redemption pressure is weighing on sentiment, as investors worry that withdrawal limits in Morgan Stanley’s fund could be a sign of broader stress in the sector.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $135.26 and a one year high of $230.47. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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