Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 204.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 919,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 617,795 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.0% of Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $163,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after buying an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after buying an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS was highlighted in a Zacks note as a “top growth stock for the long term,” reinforcing the market’s growth narrative around Morgan Stanley. Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. banks were broadly strong as investors waited for the Fed meeting, and Morgan Stanley was specifically mentioned among the bank stocks hitting records. Big Bank Stocks Hit Records Ahead of Fed Meeting
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent performance data show Morgan Stanley has already been benefiting from strong earnings, with the latest quarter beating expectations on both EPS and revenue, which supports the stock’s momentum but is not a fresh catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain constructive overall, including Morgan Stanley’s own overweight rating and several higher price targets across the Street, which helps underpin valuation expectations.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of MS opened at $225.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $355.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $197.03 and a 200 day moving average of $182.11. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $129.93 and a 52-week high of $228.07. 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 (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 return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.