Concentric Capital Strategies LP Acquires New Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 74,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,239,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Morgan Stanley News

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 Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $225.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.11. 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 has a 1 year low of $129.93 and a 1 year high of $228.07. The company has a market capitalization of $355.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

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.