Forum Financial Management LP Sells 17,526 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 57.5% in the first quarter, selling 17,526 shares and ending with 12,963 shares valued at about $2.13 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% from a year earlier.
• The company also announced a $20 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, while analysts have mostly stayed constructive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Forum Financial Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 57.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,526 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EWA LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Networth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3,814.3% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 39.8% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 116,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,141,000 after purchasing an additional 33,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $334.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, signaling confidence in further upside. MarketScreener article
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend and a new $20 billion share repurchase authorization, which should appeal to income and capital-return investors. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment around Morgan Stanley has also been helped by broader optimism on IPOs and equity issuance, which could support the firm’s investment banking franchise if deal activity stays strong into 2026. Stocktwits article
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is being cited in several third-party articles, including commentary on broader market themes and sector stock picks, which adds visibility but does not appear to be a direct earnings catalyst. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes that Morgan Stanley continues to make stock calls across utilities, beverage, and other sectors, reinforcing its role as a market-moving analyst but not changing MS fundamentals by itself.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.50.

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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