Cynosure Group LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MS opened at $220.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $348.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $129.66 and a 12 month high of $222.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 currently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said the bull market remains intact and could broaden further as investors rotate into cyclical sectors. The ‘Bull Market Is Intact,’ Says Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also highlighted stocks that can keep the rally going, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s influence on market positioning and investor sentiment. These stocks have been beating the S&P 500 and could keep the bull market going, says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also in the news for stock-specific research calls, including upgrades and target hikes on names tied to AI infrastructure, data storage, and industrials, which reflects active and influential equity research coverage. Morgan Stanley (MS) Pounds the Table on These Data Storage Names

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.