Morgan Stanley $MS is Focused Investors LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Focused Investors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,228,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,600 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 6.6% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $202,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted 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 worth $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 worth $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $223.69 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.88. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $130.90 and a 12-month high of $230.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. CICC Research lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.35.

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.