Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 313,358 shares and leaving it with 472,239 shares worth about $83.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue of $20.58 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 16% year over year.
• The stock has been trading near its 52-week high and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 472,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 313,358 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $83,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $200.44 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $178.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $123.88 and a twelve month high of $200.75. The stock has a market cap of $316.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is benefiting from continued investor interest in its investment-banking franchise, especially after reports that OpenAI is preparing for a potential IPO with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as key bankers. That keeps MS in focus as a likely winner from high-profile capital-markets activity.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also remains associated with constructive analyst commentary across several holdings and sectors, including recent notes on AI dealmaking, NextEra Energy, and other names, reinforcing the view that Morgan Stanley is well positioned in active markets and advisory work.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced the winners of its 2026 Strategy Challenge, highlighting its pro bono nonprofit work in the U.S. and U.K. This is positive for reputation, but it is unlikely to be a major stock driver on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another headline said Morgan Stanley asked Hong Kong bankers to carry separate phones on China trips, reflecting tighter data-security controls. That is more of an operational/compliance item than a direct earnings catalyst. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.