J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $13.64 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 261.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,032 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced it entered exclusivity to acquire a majority stake in Nicollin Environnement, a French environmental services company. The move highlights MS’s private-markets and infrastructure investing capabilities beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Nicollin Environnement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continued to frame Morgan Stanley as a beneficiary of strong banking results heading into Q2 earnings season, with bank earnings generally expected to be solid and supporting sentiment for large financial stocks like MS. Bank Earnings Look Strong Ahead of Q2: ETFs in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary said Morgan Stanley warned that the AI chip rally may be losing momentum, but this is more a macro/sector view than a direct catalyst for MS shares. Morgan Stanley warns AI chip rally may be running out of steam

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $222.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $350.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $230.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.