Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC MO purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $350,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 40,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,183,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 233.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 28,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,995,000 after buying an additional 7,272 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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 Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $193.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $305.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $123.88 and a 52-week high of $194.95.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. 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.