Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 317,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,616 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $56,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $201.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.87 and a 200 day moving average of $176.88. The company has a market cap of $318.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. 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 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $203.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Argus boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.95.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s analysts were cited in several bullish calls across equities, including upgrades/positive views that helped lift sentiment in names like AppLovin, Semtech, and others, highlighting the firm’s influence and strong research franchise. AppLovin Stock (APP) Jumps 11% after Bullish Morgan Stanley Call
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its S&P 500 target on expectations for AI-driven earnings growth, adding to the broader market’s constructive backdrop for large financial firms like Morgan Stanley. Goldman Raises S&P 500 Target, Sees 17% Upside This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Published commentary said Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing regulators to reconsider an exemption that helped Morgan Stanley integrate its German investment bank into its U.S. holding company, which could increase regulatory scrutiny but does not yet amount to a direct financial hit. Warren Scrutiny Of German Unit Exemption Tests Morgan Stanley Valuation Narrative

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.