Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 386,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150,054 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $68,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

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

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued 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 is presently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

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.