Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Purchases 23,058 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 93.5%, adding 23,058 shares to hold 47,712 shares worth about $8.54 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $3.43 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year‑over‑year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (annualized $4.00, ~2.1% yield, ex‑dividend April 30) while insiders sold 110,444 shares worth about $20.7 million in the past 90 days.

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 93.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,058 shares during the quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,443,926,000 after acquiring an additional 249,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $188.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $112.03 and a 52-week high of $194.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock worth $20,665,049. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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