Retirement Planning Group LLC Takes $479,000 Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.4% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $287.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $188.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.13 and its 200 day moving average is $159.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has filed for spot crypto ETFs (Bitcoin and Solana) and is moving into crypto services — a potential new AUM and fee revenue stream that investors view as strategic diversification and distribution capability. Get Ready for Crypto Exposure as Morgan Stanley Joins the ETF Race
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage reports that Morgan Stanley plans to launch a cryptocurrency wallet — another revenue/product initiative that could deepen client engagement and capture crypto flows. Morgan Stanley Plans to Launch Cryptocurrency Wallet
• Positive Sentiment: MS’s private-equity arm took a majority stake in engineering firm Olsson — shows continued deal activity from MSPE and potential near-term realized value and longer-term fee/carry upside. Morgan Stanley’s PE unit takes majority stake in engineering firm Olsson
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market outlets are updating forecasts ahead of Morgan Stanley’s Q4 earnings release (scheduled this week). Expectations and revisions can increase short?term volatility but also set the stage for upside if MS beats on trading/AUM. Top Wall Street Forecasters Revamp Morgan Stanley Expectations Ahead Of Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews highlight that trading and investment-banking results will be watched closely (those lines drive quarter-to-quarter swings in revenue). This is informational — may amplify moves after the print. Earnings Preview: Morgan Stanley to Report This Week
• Positive Sentiment: Public commentary (Jim Cramer) and analyst write-ups highlight strong recent asset?gathering at Morgan Stanley — positive signal for recurring fee revenue and wealth management momentum. Jim Cramer Says “The Asset Gathering in Morgan Stanley Has Been Extraordinary”
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and banking-sector weakness (other banks’ volatility and index declines) is weighing on financial names, increasing downside risk for MS into earnings even if company fundamentals are stable. SPY is down 1.0% today, on BAC stock price movement

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

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.