Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Cut by Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,443 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 3.6% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and reapproved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital strength and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Continued to highlight strength in its core franchise, with recent earnings showing strong revenue and profit growth and analysts still expecting double-digit earnings growth into the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles also quote Morgan Stanley strategists and analysts on broader market themes, including the tech selloff and AI trade, but these comments are not direct operating updates for MS.
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit redemption pressure is weighing on sentiment, as investors worry that withdrawal limits in Morgan Stanley’s fund could be a sign of broader stress in the sector.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.85 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $135.26 and a 12-month high of $230.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.50.

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.