Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 97.2%, selling 750,451 shares in Q4 and leaving 21,764 shares worth $3.86 million according to its latest 13F filing.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly estimates, reporting $3.43 EPS vs. $3.02 expected and $20.58 billion revenue vs. $19.23 billion, and announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annualized, ~2.1% yield).
• MS launched an MSIM Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio to serve stablecoin issuers and has seen mixed analyst activity (price‑target upgrades from some firms) while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average target of $201.89; institutional investors own about 84.19% of the stock.

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 97.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 750,451 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during 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 during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew 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 worth $196,311,000 after purchasing an additional 741,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $104,097,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: MSIM launched a Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio (MSNXX) aimed at stablecoin issuers — a new money‑market/reserve solution that positions Morgan Stanley as a provider of regulatory‑aligned cash reserves for the growing payment‑stablecoin market. This is strategically important because it can win fee income, strengthen MS’s digital‑assets franchise and deepen client relationships in crypto. MS stablecoin reserves fund
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party analyst activity is supportive: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on MS to $205 (from $195), citing upside vs. the share price — a clear vote of confidence that can help investor sentiment. BNP Paribas raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and research note coverage (Zacks, other outlets) continue to highlight MS as a solid momentum/dividend and growth play — reinforcing buy‑side interest in the wealth‑management and capital‑markets franchises that drive recurring revenue. Zacks momentum coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley expanded market infrastructure ties (e.g., added as an NZX clearing participant) and continues to show institutional product rollout — incremental business development but not immediately earnings‑material. NZX clearing participant
• Neutral Sentiment: MS has been cited across media coverage for analyst model updates and sector research (examples: packaged‑foods coverage updates, biopharma model tweaks). These signals illustrate active franchise research but don’t directly move MS’s revenues. MS analyst activity examples
• Negative Sentiment: Intraday weakness likely reflects profit‑taking/positioning and options‑oriented selling: Schaeffer and other options commentators recently highlighted bearish trades tied to MS, which can amplify short‑term downward pressure. Lower-than‑average volume today (per background data) also suggests a thinner market exacerbating small sell flows. Schaeffer options note

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $188.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.01. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $112.03 and a fifty-two week high of $194.59. The firm has a market cap of $297.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,444 shares of company stock worth $20,665,049 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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.