Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly one of the lead banks working with OpenAI on a confidential IPO filing, positioning the firm to benefit from underwriting, advisory, and related capital-markets fees if the deal moves forward. OpenAI readies IPO filing to list as soon as September
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s involvement in AI-related dealmaking and broader technology M&A, reinforcing the view that the bank is well positioned to capture activity tied to the AI investment cycle. Morgan Stanley Sees AI Deals Spreading Across Chips, Power, and Data Centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines were mostly commentary or positioning updates, including notes on Morgan Stanley’s outlook for Fed rate cuts and its tighter device/security policy for China travel, which are unlikely to move the stock on their own.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $197.70 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $123.88 and a fifty-two week high of $198.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $177.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.58. The company has a market cap of $311.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. CICC Research boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

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.