First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 4,142 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,142 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS was highlighted in a Zacks note as a “top growth stock for the long term,” reinforcing the market’s growth narrative around Morgan Stanley. Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. banks were broadly strong as investors waited for the Fed meeting, and Morgan Stanley was specifically mentioned among the bank stocks hitting records. Big Bank Stocks Hit Records Ahead of Fed Meeting
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent performance data show Morgan Stanley has already been benefiting from strong earnings, with the latest quarter beating expectations on both EPS and revenue, which supports the stock’s momentum but is not a fresh catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain constructive overall, including Morgan Stanley’s own overweight rating and several higher price targets across the Street, which helps underpin valuation expectations.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $225.32 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $197.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.11. The stock has a market cap of $355.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $129.93 and a 1 year high of $228.07.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.