Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Intact Investment Management cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 20.8% in Q4 (sold 15,400 shares), leaving 58,500 shares worth about $10.39M, while insiders have sold 77,476 shares (~$14.6M) in the past three months, indicating notable insider/institutional selling pressure.
• Morgan Stanley posted a strong quarter with EPS of $3.43 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58B (up 16% year‑over‑year), topping consensus estimates.
• Sell‑side analysts have an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $201.89 following several upgrades, and the firm announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.1% yield) payable May 15.

Intact Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,400 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $190.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $117.21 and a 1 year high of $194.59. The company has a market capitalization of $300.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.99.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley helped lead Avalyn Pharma’s IPO (book‑runner role), a fee‑generating capital markets deal that signals continued ECM activity and underwriting pipeline. Avalyn Pharma IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Research strength is visible: Morgan Stanley’s analysts have issued high‑profile calls (e.g., double‑tier upgrades on media names and a dramatic Caterpillar target raise) that reinforce MS’s institutional franchise and brokerage/research credibility. Those activities support fees and trading flows. Paramount Skydance upgrade Caterpillar price‑target move
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a stronger buy, which is supportive for sentiment but often already reflected in short‑term flows; media/IB coverage (IBD write‑ups) also highlight MS's deal pipeline. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE (part of Morgan Stanley) published its sector‑rotation study today — useful for understanding client flows and positioning but unlikely to move MS shares dramatically on its own. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges Morgan Stanley improperly enabled third‑party tracking of website users — a reputational and legal overhang that can create headline volatility and uncertainty around potential costs or regulatory scrutiny. That news is likely the largest immediate negative today. Lawsuit on data collection

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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