Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 29,098 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 29,098 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Twelve 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.50.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and reapproved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital strength and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Continued to highlight strength in its core franchise, with recent earnings showing strong revenue and profit growth and analysts still expecting double-digit earnings growth into the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles also quote Morgan Stanley strategists and analysts on broader market themes, including the tech selloff and AI trade, but these comments are not direct operating updates for MS.
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit redemption pressure is weighing on sentiment, as investors worry that withdrawal limits in Morgan Stanley’s fund could be a sign of broader stress in the sector.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $212.85 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $135.26 and a one year high of $230.47. The company has a market cap of $335.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $203.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.50. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.