Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Axiom Investors LLC DE decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,600,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 203,905 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 5.6% of Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $639,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 9,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 1,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,047,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley remains constructive on several financial and growth names, including recent bullish calls on companies like Cloudflare and American Airlines, reinforcing the bank’s active role in shaping market expectations. Morgan Stanley Lifts PT on Cloudflare (NET)
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it is “wide awake” to acquisition opportunities, which can support optimism that Morgan Stanley could pursue strategic M&A if conditions improve. Morgan Stanley ‘wide awake’ to acquisition opportunities, CEO says
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to a Buy-equivalent ranking, citing improving earnings prospects. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Buy: Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley presented at the U.S. Financials Conference 2026, which keeps investor attention on the bank’s capital markets and wealth-management strategy rather than on a single earnings event. Morgan Stanley (MS) Presents at US Financials Conference 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market risk-off trading and fading rate-cut expectations are pressuring financials and other rate-sensitive names, which can weigh on Morgan Stanley even without a bad company headline.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $210.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $128.81 and a fifty-two week high of $219.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $190.83 and a 200-day moving average of $179.89. The stock has a market cap of $331.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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.