Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 254,311 shares valued at about $45.1 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion also topping forecasts, while revenue rose 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus; however, insiders have recently sold shares and the stock is trading near its 52-week high.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,914 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $45,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $214.19 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $128.81 and a one year high of $219.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $193.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.84. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm 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 17.70%. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. 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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