Vise Technologies Inc. Has $8.52 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $2,736,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.9%

MS stock opened at $218.38 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $127.34 and a 1-year high of $219.16. The firm has a market cap of $344.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $187.87 and its 200-day moving average is $178.81. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.