Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,305 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 0.9% of Gradient Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after buying an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after buying an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $161.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

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.