Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Invests $5.08 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,082,000. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.9% of Vertrix Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.4% in the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 50,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,950,000 after buying an additional 12,804 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during 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 buying an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after buying an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 965,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,866,000 after buying an additional 67,613 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $211.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $135.26 and a 12-month high of $230.47. The company has a market cap of $333.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley authorized a new $20 billion share repurchase program and raised its dividend, a clear capital-return tailwind that investors often view as supportive for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The OCC gave Morgan Stanley conditional approval for a trust charter, advancing its digital-asset custody strategy and potentially opening a new growth avenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer also reportedly shifted its stance on big banks, including Morgan Stanley, which may add some caution to the sector backdrop, though the market-focused headline is not specific to MS’s fundamentals. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’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 owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.