Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.26.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 forecast to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling a constructive view on equities and supporting sentiment around the firm. Morgan Stanley says S&P 500 can reach 8,300 in 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: The bank’s MSBT spot Bitcoin ETF reportedly posted strong first-month inflows and no outflows, suggesting healthy demand for Morgan Stanley-linked investment products. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Bitcoin ETF Sees Zero Outflows in First Month
• Positive Sentiment: Recent brokerage commentary on other holdings and market strategy has kept Morgan Stanley in the spotlight as a go-to source for top-down equity views. Here’s Why Morgan Stanley (MS) Remains Bullish on Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity was mixed earlier in the week, with Citi lifting its price target to $194 while keeping a Neutral rating, which is supportive but not a strong catalyst by itself. Citi Raises Morgan Stanley (MS) Price Target Following Coverage Transfer
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, media coverage around Morgan Stanley’s macro calls on inflation, the yuan, and global growth keeps the bank visible, but those items are more about commentary than a direct earnings driver for MS shares. Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $193.99 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $194.95.

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 firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio 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.