Prudential PLC Has $20.88 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 117,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,756 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was selected, along with Goldman Sachs, to lead Anthropic’s IPO, a high-profile mandate that could add meaningful investment-banking fees and highlights the firm’s strength in AI-related capital markets work. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Land Anthropic IPO
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is preparing to open parts of its stock-administration platform to external AI agents suggests the company is leaning into automation and could improve efficiency and client service in a large, recurring-fee business. Morgan Stanley will soon open its trillion-dollar wealth management funnel to AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent Morgan Stanley research calls on unrelated stocks remained constructive on AI, consumer, and industrial themes, helping reinforce the firm’s reputation as a leading market strategist and advisor. Nvidia Stock Forecast — Top Morgan Stanley Analyst Sees 34% Upside, Calls It a Top Pick
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also appeared in other market-moving coverage around rates, FX, and financials, but those pieces were more about the firm’s views than about a direct earnings or guidance change for MS. Morgan Stanley Sees Fed Discounting War in Considering Any Hike

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $218.38 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $127.34 and a twelve month high of $219.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.81. The company has a market capitalization of $344.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.