Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $24.91 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,530 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. 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 note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.90.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00 and reauthorized a $20 billion multi-year share repurchase program, a shareholder-friendly capital return update. Morgan Stanley Announces a Dividend Increase of 15 Cents to $1.15 Per Share and the Reauthorization of a $20 Billion Multi-Year Common Equity Share Repurchase Program
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $225 from $200, signaling continued analyst confidence even with an unchanged Equal Weight rating. Morgan Stanley target raised by Wells Fargo
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. received its 10th consecutive “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act rating from the OCC, a positive reputational update but likely not a major near-term stock driver. Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. Receives Outstanding Rating for Community Reinvestment Initiatives
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Morgan Stanley lifted its call on private markets by launching new crypto ETF filings and keeping bullish sector views on names like Coca-Cola and others, but these are more commentary than direct MS earnings drivers. Morgan Stanley Launches 0.14% Ethereum And Solana ETFs With 95% Staking Rewards
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also focused on reports that Morgan Stanley capped withdrawals in its North Haven private credit fund after redemption requests reached about 11.6% of units, reigniting worries about liquidity and private-credit stress. Morgan Stanley caps Q2 withdrawals at North Haven private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: A broader sector selloff in alternative asset managers and private-credit names is also weighing on sentiment, helping explain why MS is slipping despite the dividend and buyback news. Morgan Stanley (MS) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MS stock opened at $220.14 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $135.26 and a twelve month high of $230.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.