Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.7% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $44,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. High Note Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 5,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 215.2% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,002,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 2,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:MS opened at $192.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $303.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $197.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 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. Investors 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 yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider 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 position. 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. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.26.

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.