Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Invests $8.85 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 53,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,854,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after buying an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 965,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,866,000 after buying an additional 67,613 shares in the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,260,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65,246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported record second-quarter revenue of $21.35 billion and EPS of $3.46, beating Wall Street estimates on strong trading, investment banking, and wealth management results.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.15 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and capital returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted record wealth and institutional revenues, along with strong financial flexibility and growing AI-related capital needs, reinforcing the view that core businesses remain healthy.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets after the print, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its target to $250 and keeping an outperform rating, adding to bullish sentiment. Article source
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s growing exposure to the AI and IPO boom, including commentary that client demand and capital-markets activity remain favorable for future results.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $344.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.25 and a 200-day moving average of $188.52. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Dbs Bank raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.55.

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.