Xponance LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Xponance LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,390 shares during the quarter. Xponance LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $32,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after buying an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $212.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.61. 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 $128.81 and a 12-month high of $219.16. The firm has a market cap of $335.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in recent coverage as a key beneficiary of a likely IPO boom, especially from AI-related deals, which could lift underwriting, trading, and advisory revenues. Barrons article on AI IPO boom
• Positive Sentiment: Management is also signaling continued growth ambitions in wealth management, with CEO Ted Pick saying Morgan Stanley wants to build a much larger wealth platform, which supports the long-term earnings story. Yahoo Finance article on wealth management goals
• Positive Sentiment: Another note said Morgan Stanley expanded AI access across its workplace wealth hub, a move that could deepen client engagement and improve the firm’s digital wealth-management offering. Zacks article on AI access expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $11.97, above the current consensus of $11.85, reinforcing expectations for solid earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mike Wilson’s latest comments on inflation and the Fed were shared in Barron’s, but they were commentary rather than a direct catalyst for Morgan Stanley shares. Barrons article on Mike Wilson macro views

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.