Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,347 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,311,000 after purchasing an additional 741,651 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $190.30 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $117.21 and a twelve month high of $194.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley helped lead Avalyn Pharma’s IPO (book‑runner role), a fee‑generating capital markets deal that signals continued ECM activity and underwriting pipeline. Avalyn Pharma IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Research strength is visible: Morgan Stanley’s analysts have issued high‑profile calls (e.g., double‑tier upgrades on media names and a dramatic Caterpillar target raise) that reinforce MS’s institutional franchise and brokerage/research credibility. Those activities support fees and trading flows. Paramount Skydance upgrade Caterpillar price‑target move
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a stronger buy, which is supportive for sentiment but often already reflected in short‑term flows; media/IB coverage (IBD write‑ups) also highlight MS’s deal pipeline. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE (part of Morgan Stanley) published its sector‑rotation study today — useful for understanding client flows and positioning but unlikely to move MS shares dramatically on its own. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges Morgan Stanley improperly enabled third‑party tracking of website users — a reputational and legal overhang that can create headline volatility and uncertainty around potential costs or regulatory scrutiny. That news is likely the largest immediate negative today. Lawsuit on data collection

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.