Northbridge Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 3,220 Morgan Stanley $MS

Northbridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $855,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $200 and reiterated an Outperform view, reinforcing bullish sentiment from analysts. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists said the stock market can still benefit from AI-driven growth, but they also warned that a bond-market selloff could pressure risk assets and trigger a broader pullback. Financial Post
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley note said the Fed may stay on hold before cutting rates again in 2027, which reflects a measured macro view rather than a direct company-specific catalyst. TheStreet

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $189.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $197.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.35.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the 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 directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.