Heritage Investors Management Corp Has $40.14 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, but still held 226,092 shares valued at about $40.14 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 estimate and revenue of $20.58 billion versus expectations of $19.23 billion, while revenue rose 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $205.95, even as insiders recently sold shares and several firms raised targets.

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,583 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.2% of Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $40,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

MS stock opened at $200.44 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $316.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $178.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.83. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $123.88 and a fifty-two week high of $200.75.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Argus raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

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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