Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 875,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,276 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $144,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.1% during the first quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 12,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,133,000 after buying an additional 4,383 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 18,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,103,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $222.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $350.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $255 from $214 and reiterated a buy rating, suggesting additional upside from current levels. UBS Group Boosts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $255.00
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also lifted its target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $250 and kept a buy rating, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone ahead of earnings. Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by Bank of America Corporation from $225.00 to $250.00.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on Morgan Stanley’s Q2 earnings report due July 15, with expectations for solid revenue and EPS, while recent commentary has highlighted strength in Wall Street trading activity and capital markets as a potential tailwind for bank results.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader financial-sector optimism is helping sentiment, as analysts have been pointing to strong second-quarter earnings prospects for major U.S. banks and continued strength in trading and advisory activity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own market commentary has also been active, including calls that investors may rotate toward hyperscalers and AI-linked names; that’s more of a broader strategy backdrop than a direct driver for MS itself. Trading surge, helped by SpaceX IPO, seen lifting Wall St banks’ second-quarter earnings

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.