Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10,167.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 664,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 657,704 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $118,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 forecast to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling a constructive view on equities and supporting sentiment around the firm. Morgan Stanley says S&P 500 can reach 8,300 in 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: The bank’s MSBT spot Bitcoin ETF reportedly posted strong first-month inflows and no outflows, suggesting healthy demand for Morgan Stanley-linked investment products. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Bitcoin ETF Sees Zero Outflows in First Month
• Positive Sentiment: Recent brokerage commentary on other holdings and market strategy has kept Morgan Stanley in the spotlight as a go-to source for top-down equity views. Here’s Why Morgan Stanley (MS) Remains Bullish on Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity was mixed earlier in the week, with Citi lifting its price target to $194 while keeping a Neutral rating, which is supportive but not a strong catalyst by itself. Citi Raises Morgan Stanley (MS) Price Target Following Coverage Transfer
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, media coverage around Morgan Stanley’s macro calls on inflation, the yuan, and global growth keeps the bank visible, but those items are more about commentary than a direct earnings driver for MS shares. Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $193.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.47 and its 200-day moving average is $174.57. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $194.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $305.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’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 transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.