Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $5.42 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 34,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,417,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $893,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the third quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,167,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $1,684,000. 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 was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.18. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 196,223 shares of company stock valued at $34,150,220. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.