Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 97.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 203,557 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continued to benefit from strong recent earnings, with the company having recently beaten consensus on both EPS and revenue, reinforcing confidence in its operating performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted “record revenue” and rising dividends, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock’s valuation. Record Revenue, Rising Dividends—So Why Aren’t Analysts Saying Buy? (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, including multiple buy-equivalent ratings and a recent price target of $610 from Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia on Broadcom-related coverage, which reflects the firm’s continued visibility across key growth themes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles mention Morgan Stanley in connection with broader market calls and conference sponsorships, which are not direct catalysts for MS shares but keep the firm in the headlines.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $203.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $321.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $126.35 and a twelve month high of $204.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.0%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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.