Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Bokf Na

Bokf Na decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,065 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after buying an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after buying an additional 374,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is hiring contract staff in Hong Kong to handle a surge in IPOs and listings — a sign of stronger investment?banking deal flow in Asia that could boost fees if activity continues. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Street support: at least one major bank recently nudged Morgan Stanley’s modeled upside (price?target lift noted in market reports), which can attract buyers and help underpin the stock in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic initiatives and partnerships (EquityZen buyout, crypto custody tie?ups, conference presentations) are being highlighted by coverage as longer?term growth levers for wealth and markets businesses; these are strategic positives but take time to show through in results. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley restricted redemptions at one of its private?credit funds after investors sought to withdraw ~11% of the fund — a liquidity/flow strain that raises questions about mark?to?market, client confidence, and potential reputational or capital impacts for the direct?lending franchise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Independent coverage and investor pieces are flagging risks in the direct?lending / private?credit business (discounts to NAV, yield dynamics), which could pressure valuations or fund distributions if outflows continue. Article Title

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $160.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $255.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $177.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.18.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

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.