CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 61.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 297,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,615 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $52,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were reportedly chosen to lead Anthropic’s IPO, a potentially high-profile assignment that could bring underwriting fees, trading activity, and prestige if the deal moves forward. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Land Anthropic IPO
• Positive Sentiment: A separate report said Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital led a $33 million growth financing for Subtle Medical, reinforcing the firm’s active role in funding AI-related and healthcare technology opportunities. Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital Leads $33 Million Growth Financing For Subtle Medical
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also published macro commentary warning that Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting could jolt foreign-exchange markets, a view that matters more for the broader market backdrop than for MS directly. Warsh’s Fed Debut Is a Key Risk for FX, Morgan Stanley Says

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $210.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $332.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.82 and its 200 day moving average is $178.43. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $127.34 and a twelve month high of $217.03. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

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.