Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Buys 6,747 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 223,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,747 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $192.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $304.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $121.46 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.26.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: DBS Bank raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $220 from $185, signaling more upside potential. DBS Bank price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, while keeping a Buy rating, reinforcing confidence in longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also increased its Morgan Stanley price target to $214 from $196, adding to the wave of bullish revisions. UBS price target update

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.