K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 47.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,022 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.1% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after acquiring an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
MS opened at $214.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $337.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $205.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.67. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $230.47.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Morgan Stanley News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley won conditional OCC approval for a national digital asset trust bank, giving it a regulated path to offer crypto custody and related services to institutional clients.
- Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to highlight Morgan Stanley as a strong growth name, with Zacks pointing to the stock’s favorable growth profile and earnings-surprise history.
- Positive Sentiment: Another market note said Morgan Stanley paired its recent dividend increase with a $20 billion buyback, reinforcing capital-return strength and shareholder-friendly policies.
- Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compared Morgan Stanley with JPMorgan and other big banks, but these were mostly valuation/style discussions rather than direct new fundamental catalysts.
- Neutral Sentiment: One analyst note mentioned Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on EQT Corp., which is unrelated to MS’s own operations and is unlikely to be a major driver for Morgan Stanley shares.
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.
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