VMS Asset Management Limited Acquires Shares of 31,900 Morgan Stanley $MS

VMS Asset Management Limited acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,663,000. Morgan Stanley comprises about 2.2% of VMS Asset Management Limited’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after buying an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,048,000 after buying an additional 5,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 569.5% in the third quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 296,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,484,000 after buying an additional 252,435 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% 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. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $218.38 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $127.34 and a one year high of $219.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $344.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named, along with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, to lead Anthropic’s expected IPO, a high-profile mandate that could boost future banking fees and underscores the firm’s position in major AI-related capital markets deals.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s analysts remained active across coverage, including a favorable note on Broadcom and higher targets on several other names, which keeps Morgan Stanley visible as a market-moving research house.
• Positive Sentiment: Media reports said Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is opening parts of its platform to AI agents, suggesting the firm is continuing to invest in automation and efficiency within its large wealth-management business.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also showed up in commentary around several sectors and conferences, including financials events and macro calls, but these items were more informational than direct stock catalysts.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Dbs Bank increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

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.