Summit Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $1.22 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Summit Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 7,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MS stock opened at $227.19 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $130.90 and a 1 year high of $230.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly weighing an expansion in Dallas through a $1.33 billion office-building deal, which could signal continued growth in its Texas footprint and long-term investment in a major financial hub. Morgan Stanley Weighs Expansion to Dallas With $1.33 Billion Office-Building Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Financial stocks were generally moving higher in afternoon trading, providing a favorable backdrop for Morgan Stanley and other large banks and brokers. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise in Afternoon Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also broader market chatter about Morgan Stanley’s crypto ETF fee strategy, which may be keeping the company in investor focus, though it is not a direct stock catalyst by itself. Morgan Stanley targets crypto ETF fee crown – while Franklin Templeton wants your stock dividends buying bitcoin

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

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.