SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 74,431 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 74,431 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

MS opened at $227.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $135.01 and a fifty-two week high of $230.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $201.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is exploring a major expansion in Texas, including a Dallas office-building deal, which suggests continued investment in its U.S. franchise and long-term growth plans. Morgan Stanley Weighs Expansion to Dallas With $1.33 Billion Office-Building Deal
• Positive Sentiment: The bank is expanding its crypto ETF offerings with proposed Ethereum and Solana funds, a move that could strengthen Morgan Stanley’s fee-based product lineup and attract new investor assets. Morgan Stanley (MS) Launches 0.14% Ethereum And Solana ETFs With 95% Staking Rewards
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also mentioned as the hired advisor on SPS Commerce’s sale process, highlighting its dealmaking role but with limited direct impact on MS shares. SPS Commerce hires Morgan Stanley to explore sale amid activist push – Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, Morgan Stanley capped a private credit fund after redemption requests of 11.6%, a reminder that some alternative-credit products are facing investor pressure. Morgan Stanley caps private credit fund after redemption requests of 11.6%

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% 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 worth $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.65.

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.