Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 13,577 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,577 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.3% during the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $240,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 10,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 196,223 shares of company stock worth $34,150,220 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $179.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $176.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.04. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.