Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MS shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $207.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.48. The stock has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. 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 highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.