Gabelli Funds LLC Has $37.16 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,682 shares. It still held 209,315 shares valued at about $37.16 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Other institutions also adjusted positions in Morgan Stanley, while 84.19% of the stock remains owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. This suggests continued heavy professional ownership despite some portfolio reshuffling.
• Morgan Stanley’s fundamentals and outlook remain solid, with the company recently beating earnings estimates and paying a $1.00 quarterly dividend. Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,682 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised 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 valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position 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 valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $192.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm's 50 day moving average is $175.54 and its 200 day moving average is $174.97. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $197.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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