HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,541,454 shares worth about $269.2 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $3.43 EPS versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $20.58 billion versus expectations of $19.23 billion, with revenue up 16% year over year.
• The company also raised investor payouts, declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a $4.00 annualized dividend yield of about 2.1%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,541,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,592 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $269,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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 Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $197.50. The firm has a market cap of $303.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $176.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. 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 research report on Friday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

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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