Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Makes New $5.08 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 30,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,082,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.9% of Vertrix Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

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

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley authorized a new $20 billion share repurchase program and raised its dividend, a clear capital-return tailwind that investors often view as supportive for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The OCC gave Morgan Stanley conditional approval for a trust charter, advancing its digital-asset custody strategy and potentially opening a new growth avenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer also reportedly shifted its stance on big banks, including Morgan Stanley, which may add some caution to the sector backdrop, though the market-focused headline is not specific to MS’s fundamentals. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $211.71 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $230.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.