USS Investment Management Ltd Has $34.02 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

USS Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $209.03 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $135.26 and a twelve month high of $230.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.99. The company has a market capitalization of $329.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Argus raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.50.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MS to $240 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, signaling continued confidence in the bank’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to highlight strong capital-return potential, with recent coverage pointing to share repurchases and shareholder payouts as supportive for valuation. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists are making broad macro calls on oil, semiconductors, AI, and market broadening, keeping the firm in the headlines but not directly changing fundamentals for MS. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank also received broader analyst attention and “moderate buy” style coverage, which supports the stock but does not appear to be a fresh catalyst by itself. American Banking News

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 worth $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.