Atria Investments Inc Has $12.74 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Atria Investments Inc decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,682 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after buying an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 outlook to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling confidence in the broader equity backdrop and the bank’s market strategy. Article: The stock market doesn’t need Fed cuts, says Morgan Stanley as it rachets S&P 500 view higher
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is being cited in several bullish sector calls, including bullish commentary on Ford and other stocks, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a leading voice in equity research and capital markets. Article: Ford’s Best 2-Day Rally Since 2020: History Says A 200% Year Could Follow
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also tied to a new digital bond-market initiative through LTX, suggesting continued investment in electronic fixed-income trading infrastructure rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article: Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

MS opened at $194.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.78. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $123.88 and a fifty-two week high of $197.50. The company has a market cap of $306.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

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.