Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New $999,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 5,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,311,000 after purchasing an additional 741,651 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.26.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in multiple pieces as a supportive analyst name, with recent coverage noting a “moderate buy” consensus and a dividend-focused bull case for the stock. That can help reinforce investor confidence in MS as a quality financial name.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is expanding into lower-fee crypto trading for retail investors, offering Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana at competitive prices. That move could be viewed as a growth initiative that broadens Morgan Stanley’s appeal to younger and more active clients. Will Lower Crypto Fees Help Morgan Stanley Win Retail Investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s macro team said Tuesday’s CPI report could come in “spicier” than expected, keeping inflation and Federal Reserve expectations in focus. That’s more of a market-wide trading catalyst than a direct MS fundamental driver. Morgan Stanley Sees ‘Spicier’ CPI as Inflation Week Kicks Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent Morgan Stanley commentary focused on oil-market risks from a possible Strait of Hormuz disruption, which may affect broader risk sentiment and rates/commodity expectations, but does not directly change MS’s operating outlook. Oil Market in ‘Race Against Time’ on Hormuz, Morgan Stanley Says

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $190.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $173.41 and a 200-day moving average of $174.08. The company has a market capitalization of $301.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $123.88 and a 52 week high of $194.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.