Bollard Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Bollard Group LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 42,307 shares and leaving it with 217,117 shares worth about $38.5 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard, State Street, and Geode Capital, increased their holdings, and institutions now own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley’s stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts have generally remained constructive with an average Moderate Buy rating and a $206.35 price target.

Bollard Group LLC lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 217,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 42,307 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.0% of Bollard Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Bollard Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the period. 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.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

MS opened at $214.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $128.81 and a 52 week high of $219.16. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $193.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Twelve research 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, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.35.

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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