Evergreen Capital Management LLC Acquires 16,308 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Evergreen Capital Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 132.1% in Q4, buying an additional 16,308 shares to hold 28,655 shares valued at about $5.09 million.
• Insider selling was notable: Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares (~$9.74M) and Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares (~$2.12M), with insiders selling 110,444 shares (~$20.67M) in the past 90 days, which could weigh on near-term sentiment.
• Morgan Stanley beat expectations with Q1 EPS of $3.43 vs. $3.02 and revenue of $20.58B (up 16% YoY), announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.1% yield), and faces mixed analyst views with a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $201.33.

Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 132.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,308 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

MS opened at $189.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.32. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $107.97 and a 52 week high of $194.59. The company has a market capitalization of $299.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. 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 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major broker price-target raises: Bank of America boosted its MS target to $225 (Buy) citing management messaging and business momentum — an analyst-level endorsement that tends to support buying interest. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley to $225
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital also raised its price target to $220 and kept Outperform — another institutional signal likely to attract demand from research-driven funds. BMO Capital adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $220
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have surged recently and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT (its spot BTC ETF) has pulled meaningful inflows — positive for MS’s wealth/asset-management fee narrative and AUM growth potential. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add $996M as Flows Near Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and media coverage: recent write-ups and weekly performance commentary (MS up vs. peers) can draw ETF and momentum flows into MS stock. That technical interest can amplify analyst-driven moves. MS up 6.29% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing research activity: Morgan Stanley’s research franchise remains active (new coverage/targets across T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and others). That strengthens the firm’s advisory/research positioning but is a longer-term reputation signal rather than an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley Assumes Coverage of T‑Mobile
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst chatter about MS strategy and stock picks (e.g., memory/AI calls) highlights the firm’s market role but doesn’t directly change MS earnings—so mixed/neutral near term. 5 Morgan Stanley Stock Picks Leading 2026 Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: MS disclosed an Eric F. Grossman sale of 11,118 shares (~$2.1M) and other insider disposals were reported — aggregated insider sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if they’re for personal/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Eric Grossman
• Negative Sentiment: Additional SEC-filed insider sales reported in media (multi-million dollar disposals) amplify the negative read for some investors and can pressure the stock despite positive analyst notes. Morgan Stanley Insider Sells

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $201.33.

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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