Aventura Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,408,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.9% of Aventura Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley formally advanced its spot Bitcoin ETF registration (ticker MSBT), disclosing $1M seed capital, planned NYSE Arca listing, custodial partners (Coinbase/BNY Mellon) and named authorized participants — a potential new product that could bring fee revenue, increase client asset flows and reinforce MS’s digital-asset positioning. Morgan Stanley advances MSBT Bitcoin ETF with amended SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research is publishing macro downside scenarios (e.g., elevated European gas risk and earlier ECB hikes) and revised rate‑cut timing — these calls can drive market volatility and trading flows that affect MS’s trading & principal revenues but are not direct corporate fundamentals. Europe gas refill risks rise; MS flags €90 TTF scenario
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley limited redemptions in a private‑credit vehicle and publicly flagged rising default/liquidity risk in parts of private credit — a near‑term negative for asset‑management fee stability, client confidence and potential reputational risk if outflows/credit losses broaden. Investors may be re‑pricing wealth & asset‑management exposure. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity As AI Risks Surface

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $161.47 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

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.