Strategic Planning Group LLC Has $13.43 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strategic Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.7% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in multiple pieces as a supportive analyst name, with recent coverage noting a “moderate buy” consensus and a dividend-focused bull case for the stock. That can help reinforce investor confidence in MS as a quality financial name.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is expanding into lower-fee crypto trading for retail investors, offering Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana at competitive prices. That move could be viewed as a growth initiative that broadens Morgan Stanley’s appeal to younger and more active clients. Will Lower Crypto Fees Help Morgan Stanley Win Retail Investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s macro team said Tuesday’s CPI report could come in “spicier” than expected, keeping inflation and Federal Reserve expectations in focus. That’s more of a market-wide trading catalyst than a direct MS fundamental driver. Morgan Stanley Sees ‘Spicier’ CPI as Inflation Week Kicks Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent Morgan Stanley commentary focused on oil-market risks from a possible Strait of Hormuz disruption, which may affect broader risk sentiment and rates/commodity expectations, but does not directly change MS’s operating outlook. Oil Market in ‘Race Against Time’ on Hormuz, Morgan Stanley Says

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $190.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $301.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.08. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $123.88 and a 52-week high of $194.83. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.26.

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.