646,765 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab

Key Points

• PFA Pension acquired a new position of 646,765 shares of Morgan Stanley in Q4, valued at about $115.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly estimates with $3.43 EPS (vs. $3.02 est.) and $20.58B revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share (annualized $4.00, ~2.1% yield).
• Company insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares (~$14.6M) over the last quarter, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $201.89 target price.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 646,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $115,823,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $190.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $300.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $171.52 and its 200 day moving average is $172.75. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $117.21 and a twelve month high of $194.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley helped lead Avalyn Pharma’s IPO (book‑runner role), a fee‑generating capital markets deal that signals continued ECM activity and underwriting pipeline. Avalyn Pharma IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Research strength is visible: Morgan Stanley’s analysts have issued high‑profile calls (e.g., double‑tier upgrades on media names and a dramatic Caterpillar target raise) that reinforce MS’s institutional franchise and brokerage/research credibility. Those activities support fees and trading flows. Paramount Skydance upgrade Caterpillar price‑target move
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a stronger buy, which is supportive for sentiment but often already reflected in short‑term flows; media/IB coverage (IBD write‑ups) also highlight MS's deal pipeline. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE (part of Morgan Stanley) published its sector‑rotation study today — useful for understanding client flows and positioning but unlikely to move MS shares dramatically on its own. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges Morgan Stanley improperly enabled third‑party tracking of website users — a reputational and legal overhang that can create headline volatility and uncertainty around potential costs or regulatory scrutiny. That news is likely the largest immediate negative today. Lawsuit on data collection

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.

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