Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in Q4, buying 12,880 shares to hold 301,458 shares worth $53.52 million, making MS its 26th-largest position.
• Company insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares (about $14.6 million) over the last 90 days, including recent sales by Eric F. Grossman and Daniel A. Simkowitz that reduced their holdings.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly estimates with $3.43 EPS (vs. $3.02 consensus) and $20.58B revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.1% yield), and has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of ~$201.89.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,880 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.7% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $53,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $190.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.75. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $114.67 and a 1-year high of $194.59. The company has a market cap of $301.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley received a notable analyst upgrade to Zacks’ “Strong Buy,” which can attract momentum-driven flows and validates recent earnings strength and positioning in wealth and investment banking. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management led an $875M senior debt financing for Bridgepointe Technologies — evidence MS’s private-credit and asset-management businesses are winning sizable direct-lending mandates that generate fee income and diversify revenue. Bridgepointe Financing
• Positive Sentiment: MS acted as a lead underwriter on the upsized Avalyn Pharma IPO — a sign the firm remains active in ECM and capital-markets underwriting, which supports deal fees and investment-banking pipeline visibility. Avalyn IPO Pricing
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research is visible across sector calls (naming Targa Resources a top midstream pick and publishing sector notes on software, utilities, pharma, etc.). That amplifies MS’s franchise value but is indirect to near-term trading unless tied to fee wins. Targa Top Pick
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley executives signaled openness to the idea of banks holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets if regulatory and capital-treatment hurdles change — a strategic position that keeps MS relevant in digital-asset conversations but carries regulatory complexity. Investors view this as a longer‑term optionality item rather than immediate earnings impact. Bitcoin on Balance Sheet
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges Morgan Stanley enabled improper third-party web tracking and data-sharing; it's seeking class-action status. Legal and privacy suits can create headline risk, potential regulatory scrutiny and defense costs — an overhang on sentiment while unresolved. Lawsuit on Data Collection

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley 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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