Divergent Planning LLC Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Divergent Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000. Morgan Stanley makes up about 0.2% of Divergent Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $373,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,331,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $164.26 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $172.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 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’s stock is benefitting from positive market commentary that highlights the firm’s recent outperformance and investor interest. A MarketBeat/Zacks write-up notes MS outpaced a broader market upswing today, reflecting supportive momentum for the bank-stock cohort following solid fundamentals. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and favorable blue‑chip rankings are supporting the tape — coverage summaries today flagged a Street upgrade/positive ranking for Morgan Stanley that can boost sentiment and attract momentum flows from funds that follow analyst action. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Income-focused investors are getting a reminder that MS remains attractive as a dividend paying bank — a Zacks piece outlines why Morgan Stanley’s dividend profile and payout stability make it appealing for yield-seeking investors, which can underpin demand from income funds. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research influence is visible in market moves elsewhere — the firm’s iPhone survey and other sector notes (e.g., on Apple) keep MS prominent in market headlines, which supports brand/flow effects but is not a direct driver of MS’s core earnings. Article
• Negative Sentiment: A headwind: Bloomberg/Yahoo report that Morgan Stanley (with Cliffwater) capped withdrawals from large private‑credit funds after redemptions exceeded limits. That signals redemption pressure in alternatives the firm manages — a reputational and potential earnings risk if flows or valuations remain challenged — and it may cap upside until clarity on fund liquidity and investor confidence returns. Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley 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.