Concentric Capital Strategies LP Purchases Shares of 74,574 Morgan Stanley $MS

Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 74,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,239,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS was highlighted in a Zacks note as a “top growth stock for the long term,” reinforcing the market’s growth narrative around Morgan Stanley. Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. banks were broadly strong as investors waited for the Fed meeting, and Morgan Stanley was specifically mentioned among the bank stocks hitting records. Big Bank Stocks Hit Records Ahead of Fed Meeting
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent performance data show Morgan Stanley has already been benefiting from strong earnings, with the latest quarter beating expectations on both EPS and revenue, which supports the stock’s momentum but is not a fresh catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain constructive overall, including Morgan Stanley’s own overweight rating and several higher price targets across the Street, which helps underpin valuation expectations.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $225.32 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $197.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.11. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $129.93 and a 1 year high of $228.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.