B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases 12,167 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 11.2%, buying 12,167 shares to hold 120,457 shares worth approximately $21.42 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $3.43 (vs. $3.02) and revenue of $20.58 billion (up 16% year-over-year) and announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annual, ~2.1% yield).
• Several analysts have raised price targets (e.g., JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BNP), but the consensus rating remains Hold with a consensus target price of $201.33.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,167 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $201.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $190.84 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $111.24 and a 12 month high of $194.59. The company has a market capitalization of $301.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $169.50 and its 200 day moving average is $171.46.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued 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 payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Q1 report showed a beat on both EPS and revenue, strong net margins and continued capital actions (dividend + repurchases), supporting earnings momentum and capital-return narrative. Morgan Stanley Strong Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple sell‑side firms raised price targets (Bank of America to $225; BMO/others to ~$220), which can attract buy interest and support higher valuations. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley BMO Capital Markets Increases MS PT to $220
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional crypto flows into Morgan Stanley’s Spot Bitcoin fund (MSBT) have been meaningful (reports of large weekly inflows / ~$100–$140M-sized allocations), boosting fee and AUM-growth expectations for wealth/asset-management. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Fund Flows
• Positive Sentiment: Research call: Morgan Stanley analysts highlighted AI-driven opportunities (e.g., gaming could unlock ~$22B in profits), underscoring the firm’s influential research franchise that can drive trading flow and client engagement. MS Research: Gaming AI Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: Big-bank earnings across peers have lifted financials generally, which helps MS sentiment but is not company-specific upside. Financials Sector Lift
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: filings show Eric Grossman sold ~11.1k shares (~$2.1M) and additional insider disposals were reported — such sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if for personal/liquidity reasons. MS Insider Sale

About Morgan Stanley

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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