Stenger Family Office LLC Buys 2,959 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Stenger Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,959 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.5% of Stenger Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Stenger Family Office LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after acquiring an additional 36,963 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 50,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,804 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MS opened at $223.69 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $130.90 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $199.10 and a 200-day moving average of $182.78. The company has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid 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 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm, together with Ridgeback Group, agreed to acquire Metra Living, a UK private rental business, for about £1.045 billion. The deal expands MS into residential rental assets and highlights its ability to deploy capital into new fee-generating businesses. Morgan Stanley Buys Into UK Rentals With £1.045b Metra Living Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Morgan Stanley’s strong recent operating results: the firm posted Q1 EPS of $3.43, topping estimates, and revenue of $20.58 billion, also ahead of expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 16%. That supports the view that fundamentals remain solid after the stock’s big run. Morgan Stanley stock performance and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: News that Morgan Stanley is part of the bank group working on possible OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs adds another potential catalyst, since high-profile tech listings could boost advisory and capital markets fees if they move forward. OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs Spark Battle Between Goldman And Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces also frame MS as a long-term momentum name and note that the stock has been trading near its highs, which may be attracting trend-following buyers rather than pointing to a single new catalyst. Why Morgan Stanley is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently 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.