Park Edge Advisors LLC Buys 8,332 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 217.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,332 shares during the period. Park Edge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00 and reauthorized a $20 billion multi-year share repurchase program, a shareholder-friendly capital return update. Morgan Stanley Announces a Dividend Increase of 15 Cents to $1.15 Per Share and the Reauthorization of a $20 Billion Multi-Year Common Equity Share Repurchase Program
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $225 from $200, signaling continued analyst confidence even with an unchanged Equal Weight rating. Morgan Stanley target raised by Wells Fargo
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. received its 10th consecutive “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act rating from the OCC, a positive reputational update but likely not a major near-term stock driver. Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. Receives Outstanding Rating for Community Reinvestment Initiatives
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Morgan Stanley lifted its call on private markets by launching new crypto ETF filings and keeping bullish sector views on names like Coca-Cola and others, but these are more commentary than direct MS earnings drivers. Morgan Stanley Launches 0.14% Ethereum And Solana ETFs With 95% Staking Rewards
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also focused on reports that Morgan Stanley capped withdrawals in its North Haven private credit fund after redemption requests reached about 11.6% of units, reigniting worries about liquidity and private-credit stress. Morgan Stanley caps Q2 withdrawals at North Haven private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: A broader sector selloff in alternative asset managers and private-credit names is also weighing on sentiment, helping explain why MS is slipping despite the dividend and buyback news. Morgan Stanley (MS) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were 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 approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.90.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $220.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $201.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.99. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.72 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 data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

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

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 issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.