Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth boosted its Morgan Stanley stake by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 150,054 shares and bringing its total holdings to 386,852 shares worth about $68.7 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong quarterly results, reporting earnings of $3.43 per share versus estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both above analyst expectations.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, implying an annualized payout of $4.00 and a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 150,054 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $68,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $214.19 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $128.81 and a 1-year high of $219.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $193.73 and its 200 day moving average is $180.97. The company has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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