Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $623.79 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,510,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334,389 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.22% of Morgan Stanley worth $623,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $3,255,000. Stenger Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 41,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,395,000 after buying an additional 2,959 shares during the last quarter. S Harris Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $773,000. Finally, EJMK Ventures LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $409,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm, together with Ridgeback Group, agreed to acquire Metra Living, a UK private rental business, for about £1.045 billion. The deal expands MS into residential rental assets and highlights its ability to deploy capital into new fee-generating businesses. Morgan Stanley Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Morgan Stanley’s strong recent operating results: the firm posted Q1 EPS of $3.43, topping estimates, and revenue of $20.58 billion, also ahead of expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 16%. That supports the view that fundamentals remain solid after the stock’s big run. Morgan Stanley stock performance and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley is part of the bank group working on possible OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs adds another potential catalyst, since high-profile tech listings could boost advisory and capital markets fees if they move forward. OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs Spark Battle Between Goldman And Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces also frame MS as a long-term momentum name and note that the stock has been trading near its highs, which may be attracting trend-following buyers rather than pointing to a single new catalyst. Why Morgan Stanley is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $223.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $199.10 and its 200-day moving average is $182.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $130.90 and a fifty-two week high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.