Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 6,050 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,050 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 455,102 shares valued at about $80.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 estimate and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• The bank paid a $1.00 per share quarterly dividend and currently offers a 2.1% yield, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $206.26.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 455,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,050 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $80,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own analysis of broader markets remains constructive, with strategists saying equities still have upside support from AI-driven growth and employment trends, even as they flag recession and bond-market risks. That keeps the firm visible in the ongoing AI-led market narrative. Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Equities While Flagging Recession Risks Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also helped fuel bullish sentiment in semiconductors by raising its revenue estimate for Nvidia ahead of earnings and highlighting continued upside potential, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s influence in high-profile growth themes that investors are still rewarding. Morgan Stanley Lifts Nvidia Stock (NVDA) Price Target Ahead of Q1 Earnings, Sees ‘Continued Upside to Numbers’
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market headlines show Morgan Stanley-linked commentary spanning everything from AI infrastructure to energy and utilities, suggesting the bank is well positioned around major investor themes, though none of these articles directly change MS fundamentals today.
• Negative Sentiment: At the same time, the firm warned that a bond selloff could trigger a meaningful stock-market correction. That caution may temper enthusiasm and explains why any move higher in Morgan Stanley (MS) is modest rather than explosive. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Warns Stock Rally at Risk From Bond Rout

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $303.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.16. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $197.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Company 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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