Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,348 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $223.69 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $130.90 and a 52-week high of $230.47. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.78. The firm has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Dbs Bank boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm, together with Ridgeback Group, agreed to acquire Metra Living, a UK private rental business, for about £1.045 billion. The deal expands MS into residential rental assets and highlights its ability to deploy capital into new fee-generating businesses. Morgan Stanley Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Morgan Stanley’s strong recent operating results: the firm posted Q1 EPS of $3.43, topping estimates, and revenue of $20.58 billion, also ahead of expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 16%. That supports the view that fundamentals remain solid after the stock’s big run. Morgan Stanley stock performance and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley is part of the bank group working on possible OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs adds another potential catalyst, since high-profile tech listings could boost advisory and capital markets fees if they move forward. OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs Spark Battle Between Goldman And Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces also frame MS as a long-term momentum name and note that the stock has been trading near its highs, which may be attracting trend-following buyers rather than pointing to a single new catalyst. Why Morgan Stanley is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term

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.