Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,240 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $3,106,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Shares of MS stock opened at $200.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $316.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.27 and a 200 day moving average of $175.83. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $200.75.
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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Morgan Stanley
More Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is benefiting from continued investor interest in its investment-banking franchise, especially after reports that OpenAI is preparing for a potential IPO with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as key bankers. That keeps MS in focus as a likely winner from high-profile capital-markets activity.
- Positive Sentiment: The firm also remains associated with constructive analyst commentary across several holdings and sectors, including recent notes on AI dealmaking, NextEra Energy, and other names, reinforcing the view that Morgan Stanley is well positioned in active markets and advisory work.
- Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced the winners of its 2026 Strategy Challenge, highlighting its pro bono nonprofit work in the U.S. and U.K. This is positive for reputation, but it is unlikely to be a major stock driver on its own. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Another headline said Morgan Stanley asked Hong Kong bankers to carry separate phones on China trips, reflecting tighter data-security controls. That is more of an operational/compliance item than a direct earnings catalyst. Article Title
Morgan Stanley Profile
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Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).
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