Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $36.81 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Ted Pick highlighted a potential $10 trillion opportunity in wealth management, signaling a much larger addressable market and supporting a bullish long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent options activity showed elevated call buying in Morgan Stanley, often a sign that investors are betting on further stock gains.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s most recent quarterly results were already strong, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent headlines also show Morgan Stanley’s analysts actively moving on other names, including downgrading Accenture and raising targets on several stocks, but those reports are not direct catalysts for MS itself.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $217.75 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $129.66 and a 1 year high of $220.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.76 and its 200-day moving average is $181.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

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.