Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 51,875 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,367,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,875 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $242,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE MS opened at $194.40 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $175.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $123.88 and a 52 week high of $197.50.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its S&P 500 outlook to 8,000 for year-end and 8,300 over 12 months, signaling confidence in the broader equity backdrop and the bank’s market strategy. Article: The stock market doesn’t need Fed cuts, says Morgan Stanley as it rachets S&P 500 view higher
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is being cited in several bullish sector calls, including bullish commentary on Ford and other stocks, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a leading voice in equity research and capital markets. Article: Ford’s Best 2-Day Rally Since 2020: History Says A 200% Year Could Follow
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also tied to a new digital bond-market initiative through LTX, suggesting continued investment in electronic fixed-income trading infrastructure rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article: Morgan Stanley Deepens Digital Bond Push With LTX AI Partnership

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.