Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. 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 research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Twelve equities research 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, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MS stock opened at $220.65 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $348.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $195.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.71. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $129.66 and a fifty-two week high of $222.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

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.