J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 60,032 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 261.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,032 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,736,648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced it entered exclusivity to acquire a majority stake in Nicollin Environnement, a French environmental services company. The move highlights MS’s private-markets and infrastructure investing capabilities beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Nicollin Environnement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continued to frame Morgan Stanley as a beneficiary of strong banking results heading into Q2 earnings season, with bank earnings generally expected to be solid and supporting sentiment for large financial stocks like MS. Bank Earnings Look Strong Ahead of Q2: ETFs in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary said Morgan Stanley warned that the AI chip rally may be losing momentum, but this is more a macro/sector view than a direct catalyst for MS shares. Morgan Stanley warns AI chip rally may be running out of steam

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $222.21 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $230.47. The company has a market cap of $350.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.