OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Has $12.80 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MS opened at $217.75 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $129.66 and a 12 month high of $220.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Ted Pick highlighted a potential $10 trillion opportunity in wealth management, signaling a much larger addressable market and supporting a bullish long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent options activity showed elevated call buying in Morgan Stanley, often a sign that investors are betting on further stock gains.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s most recent quarterly results were already strong, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent headlines also show Morgan Stanley’s analysts actively moving on other names, including downgrading Accenture and raising targets on several stocks, but those reports are not direct catalysts for MS itself.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.35.

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.