Cardano Risk Management B.V. Purchases Shares of 554,412 Morgan Stanley $MS

Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 554,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $91,239,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $220.14 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $347.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research cut 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’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 owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.