Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Reduced by Integrated Advisors Network LLC

Integrated Advisors Network LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 36.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,856 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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. CICC Research upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.20.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and UBS both raised their price targets on Morgan Stanley and kept buy ratings, signaling continued Wall Street confidence in the stock’s upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are looking for Morgan Stanley to post solid Q2 results on July 15, with expectations for $2.81 EPS and $19.34 billion in revenue, which keeps fundamentals in focus ahead of the print.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management also announced an investment in the Greenlight Electricity Centre power project, reinforcing its capital deployment and infrastructure strategy.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary from Morgan Stanley has also touched on broader market themes, including a potential rotation away from chipmakers and toward hyperscalers, which may be influencing sector sentiment more than MS-specific news.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock may be trading softer as investors take profits or stay cautious after a strong run and ahead of earnings, even with the higher analyst targets.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $221.86. 1,013,503 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,659,688. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.72. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

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.