Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,477 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $200 and reiterated an Outperform view, reinforcing bullish sentiment from analysts. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists said the stock market can still benefit from AI-driven growth, but they also warned that a bond-market selloff could pressure risk assets and trigger a broader pullback. Financial Post
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley note said the Fed may stay on hold before cutting rates again in 2027, which reflects a measured macro view rather than a direct company-specific catalyst. TheStreet

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Evercore increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE MS opened at $189.58 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $123.88 and a 52 week high of $197.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $176.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.35. The firm has a market cap of $299.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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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