Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in Q4 to 216,523 shares worth $38.44M, and institutional investors now own 84.19% of MS with Vanguard holding ~119.7M shares (~$21.25B).
• Morgan Stanley beat estimates with $3.43 EPS vs. $3.02 expected and $20.58B in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (annualized $4.00, yield 2.1%).
• Insiders sold 77,476 shares (~$14.6M) over the last quarter, while analysts rate the stock a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $201.89.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $196,311,000 after purchasing an additional 741,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

MS opened at $188.22 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $171.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.99. The company has a market cap of $297.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $117.21 and a one year high of $194.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named a lead arranger on a roughly $13 billion financing for Meta’s planned El Paso data‑center, a large corporate financing that should generate sizable underwriting and advisory fees and signals continued dealflow in tech infrastructure. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched a centralized Wealth Education Center for advisors — a distribution and client‑education tool that can help drive AUM retention and advisory flows over time. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Introduces Wealth Education Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research remains active and visible (notes on tech, semiconductors and AI capex), which supports the firm’s reputation and potential trading/research revenue but is an indirect driver of stock moves. Morgan Stanley Lifts Targets on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley commentary that strong tech earnings could offset geopolitical risk underscores its role in market strategy; this is more reputational than immediately earnings‑moving. Morgan Stanley Sees Tech Earnings Eclipsing Iran War for Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Financial-sector weakness today is pressuring banks broadly; MS is being pulled lower with the group as investors trim exposure to rate and macro risk. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Intraday trading shows below‑average volume and profit‑taking after recent gains; lower demand can amplify downward moves even when firm‑level headlines are positive. MS stock trading details

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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, Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.89.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.