Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Takes $3.08 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,083,000. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.7% of Harvest Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said the bull market remains intact and could broaden further as investors rotate into cyclical sectors. The ‘Bull Market Is Intact,’ Says Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also highlighted stocks that can keep the rally going, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s influence on market positioning and investor sentiment. These stocks have been beating the S&P 500 and could keep the bull market going, says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was also in the news for stock-specific research calls, including upgrades and target hikes on names tied to AI infrastructure, data storage, and industrials, which reflects active and influential equity research coverage. Morgan Stanley (MS) Pounds the Table on These Data Storage Names

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 directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $220.65 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $129.66 and a 52 week high of $222.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $348.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. HSBC boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.35.

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.