Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 461,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,590 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $76,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.0% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 225,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,140,000 after purchasing an additional 34,395 shares in the last quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.0% in the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 9,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 9,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6,125.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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 Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE MS opened at $222.21 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MS. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.20.

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.