Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 713,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119,677 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $117,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $212.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $135.26 and a one year high of $230.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and reapproved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital strength and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Continued to highlight strength in its core franchise, with recent earnings showing strong revenue and profit growth and analysts still expecting double-digit earnings growth into the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles also quote Morgan Stanley strategists and analysts on broader market themes, including the tech selloff and AI trade, but these comments are not direct operating updates for MS.
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit redemption pressure is weighing on sentiment, as investors worry that withdrawal limits in Morgan Stanley’s fund could be a sign of broader stress in the sector.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. CICC Research boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.50.

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.