Junto Capital Management LP Buys New Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Junto Capital initiated a new position in Morgan Stanley, buying 1,069,683 shares valued at about $170.0 million — roughly 3.5% of Junto’s portfolio and representing 0.07% of Morgan Stanley outstanding.
• Morgan Stanley beat expectations for the quarter, reporting $2.68 EPS versus $2.28 expected and $17.90 billion in revenue (up 10.3% year‑over‑year).
• The firm capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑income/private‑credit fund after large withdrawal requests, a move that sparked investor concern and contributed to multi‑percent selling and broader sector volatility.

Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,069,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $170,037,000. Morgan Stanley comprises about 3.5% of Junto Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned 0.07% of Morgan Stanley at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $154.84 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The stock's 50 day moving average is $176.11 and its 200-day moving average is $168.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market capitalization of $245.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Selected as one of the Wall Street banks involved in a large Pentagon/defense financing initiative — a potential source of advisory fees and franchise work. Pentagon taps Morgan Stanley for defense initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research/public commentary on AI and macro trends keeps the firm visible to institutional clients and supports its wealth & investment‑management franchise positioning. That can help offset short‑term trading volatility. Morgan Stanley: AI Revolution Set to Disrupt Jobs and Energy Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm commentary on monetary policy (warning that rate cuts are unlikely soon) is driving market context rather than company-specific flows — it influences investor expectations for bank earnings broadly. Don’t Expect Interest Rate Cuts Anytime Soon, Says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/positioning adjustment that is informational but not material to core operating results. Morgan Stanley Trims Siemens Energy Voting Stake
• Negative Sentiment: The primary near‑term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑income/private‑credit fund after investors requested ~10.9% in redemptions; the fund honored a 5% quarterly repurchase cap. That gating triggered investor concern about private‑credit liquidity and valuation transparency and was the proximate cause of a multi‑percent selloff in MS and other alternative‑asset managers. Morgan Stanley restricts redemptions at private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit contagion and gating at other managers (Cliffwater, BlackRock coverage) amplified sector risk — investors rotated out of financials and alternative‑asset exposure on worries about defaults, liquidity and mark‑to‑model valuations. Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater limit private credit withdrawals (FT)
• Negative Sentiment: Negative sentiment was reinforced on social channels and media coverage, which likely exacerbated intraday selling pressure and short‑term volatility even though underlying wealth & advisory metrics remain more stable. Wall Street’s Own Stock Is Getting Hammered on Reddit

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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