Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $35.04 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 197,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,064 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 66,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,751,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,807,000 after purchasing an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,009,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,674,000 after buying an additional 133,595 shares in the last quarter. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $747,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,109.4% during the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $187 from $179 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations even though the new target still implies downside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s “wide awake” posture on M&A opportunities as the bank pursues a $10 trillion wealth-management ambition, which could support longer-term growth through acquisitions in advisors, private markets, and alternatives.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional reports emphasized Morgan Stanley’s continued strength in wealth management and its willingness to expand through inorganic growth, reinforcing the market’s view that the firm has multiple avenues for revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Morgan Stanley’s stock has climbed near its 52-week high, which may be drawing attention to valuation and limiting upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.97 from $12.00, a minor change that does not appear to have altered the broader bullish tone.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to frame Morgan Stanley’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, and the stock’s proximity to its 52-week high may prompt profit-taking.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $214.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.97. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $128.81 and a 52-week high of $219.16.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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