iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1,522.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 106,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 100,272 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 2,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the first quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 44,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 39,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $209.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The stock has a market cap of $329.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $203.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.99.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during 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 was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MS to $240 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, signaling continued confidence in the bank’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to highlight strong capital-return potential, with recent coverage pointing to share repurchases and shareholder payouts as supportive for valuation. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists are making broad macro calls on oil, semiconductors, AI, and market broadening, keeping the firm in the headlines but not directly changing fundamentals for MS. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank also received broader analyst attention and “moderate buy” style coverage, which supports the stock but does not appear to be a fresh catalyst by itself. American Banking News

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

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.