LGT Capital Partners LTD. Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

LGT Capital Partners LTD. cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSFree Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 212,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,926 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.9% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $334.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $128.81 and a 1 year high of $219.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s top market strategist said the recent tech selloff looks like a healthy reset, with improving earnings and the economic backdrop still supportive for stocks. Why tech’s record pullback is just a ‘healthy reset’ for the bull market, according to Morgan Stanley’s top stock-market strategist
  • Positive Sentiment: Related market coverage suggests investors are rotating back into stocks after the prior tech-led pullback, which can support large diversified financials like MS.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Several news items mention Morgan Stanley conference activity and analyst work, but they appear to be industry-context items rather than direct catalysts for Morgan Stanley’s own fundamentals.
  • Neutral Sentiment: No major Morgan Stanley earnings, guidance, or capital-return announcement was included in the latest batch of articles.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MS

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

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