Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after buying an additional 374,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,659,000 after buying an additional 28,420 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $182.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $179.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $290.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights Morgan Stanley’s wealth & asset-management business as a durable, recurring-revenue engine that now accounts for the majority of firm revenues — a structural strength that supports more predictable fee income and helps justify a higher multiple for MS. MS Wealth & Asset Management Moat
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/AmericanBankingNews notes the brokerage consensus on MS is “Moderate Buy,” reflecting broad analyst support after the company’s January quarter results and forward outlook — analyst backing tends to support upward price moves. Consensus Recommendation: Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: President Trump’s reported selection of former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the nominee for Fed chair (Warsh has Morgan Stanley banking ties) is being discussed in the market; any perceived “connection” is indirect and more reputational than financial for MS, so impact is uncertain/likely muted. Warsh Named as Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes and commentary by Morgan Stanley strategists (e.g., observations on bond-market dislocations and sector calls) underline the firm’s active research and trading flow — positive for fee and trading revenue over time but not an immediate catalyst. Morgan Stanley Exec on Bond Market
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: MS insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares at about $182.61 (~$6.0M). The trade reduces his stake materially (reported ~8.45% of his holdings) — sizable insider sales can create short-term selling pressure or signal personal liquidity needs, though one sale alone is not definitive about firm fundamentals. Insider Sale Filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

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.