Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Position Increased by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 59.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,972 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.4% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 50,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,804 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $225.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $355.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.11. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $129.93 and a twelve month high of $228.07.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wolfe Research cut 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’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 value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.