Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 3,523 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lmcg Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,523 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $193.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $305.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.42. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $118.20 and a one year high of $194.83.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.17.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is piloting spot crypto trading on its E*Trade retail platform (charging ~50 bps per trade) with plans to scale to ~8.6M users — a new recurring fee engine that could lift retail trading revenue, drive client engagement and pressure rivals’ pricing. Morgan Stanley Undercuts Coinbase, Robinhood On BTC, ETH, SOL Trading Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa Securities raised its MS price target to $198 (from $175) — an analyst move that signals improved expectations for earnings and supports valuation momentum. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley to $198
• Positive Sentiment: MS led construction?sector M&A advisory by deal value in Q1, highlighting strong investment?banking activity in a sizable vertical (supporting fee pools). This underscores ongoing IB strength beyond macro headlines. Morgan Stanley tops construction sector M&A rankings by value in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: MS became the first international bank to join Abu Dhabi’s ADX as a Remote Trading Member — a distribution/markets expansion that may widen institutional client access to Middle East liquidity and strengthen global markets revenue. ADX welcomes Morgan Stanley as the first international investment bank Remote Trading Member
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research (on AI capex and commodities) continues to influence markets — helpful for MS’s institutional/research franchise but not an immediate earnings driver for the stock. Useful context for cyclical IB and capital?markets flows. Morgan Stanley sees big-tech AI capex surge
• Negative Sentiment: The Wall Street Journal and Reuters report a U.S. probe into Morgan Stanley’s Budapest investment?banking program — a regulatory issue that could carry operational and reputational risk depending on scope and findings; investors should monitor disclosures and any potential fines or business impacts. Morgan Stanley investment banking program in Budapest hit by U.S. probe

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.