62,200 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake of 62,200 shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in Q4, valued at about $11.14 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted an earnings beat (EPS $3.43 vs. $3.02) and revenue of $20.58B (up 16% y/y); analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $203.17 after several firms raised targets.
• Notable risks and developments: insiders sold 77,476 shares in the past 90 days and the firm faces a reported U.S. probe into its Budapest investment‑banking program, even as Morgan Stanley pilots spot crypto trading on E*Trade as a new revenue stream.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 62,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,138,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.17.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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 Stock Up 2.1%

MS opened at $193.13 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.33 and a 200-day moving average of $173.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $118.20 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

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.

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