Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,363 shares during the quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 86.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $238,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $50,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised Morgan Stanley’s price target after the firm’s strong fourth‑quarter results, citing better-than-expected performance that supports higher valuation and analyst confidence. RBC boosts Morgan Stanley (MS) price target on strong fourth-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector-rotation study showing where retail clients were net buying/selling across sectors — useful for gauging client flow trends but not an immediate earnings or capital-impact event. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley (as an investor/asset manager) has reported changes in holdings — e.g., ceasing to be a substantial holder in a smaller mining name — reflecting portfolio rebalancing across its funds. These institutional moves show asset‑management activity but are not direct operating news for MS. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in West African Resources
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling was reported at Morgan Stanley (a disclosed sale worth several million dollars). Material insider sales can add short-term downside pressure or be interpreted as executives taking profits; investors often watch size and frequency for signal. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells $6,020,286.48 in Stock

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $182.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 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.