NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $21.99 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 14% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 123,879 shares valued at about $21.99 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $206.35 average price target, while several firms recently raised targets and others maintained neutral views.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it continues to support shareholders with a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annualized, 1.9% yield).

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,124 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. CICC Research raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.35.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $187 from $179 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations even though the new target still implies downside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s “wide awake” posture on M&A opportunities as the bank pursues a $10 trillion wealth-management ambition, which could support longer-term growth through acquisitions in advisors, private markets, and alternatives.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional reports emphasized Morgan Stanley’s continued strength in wealth management and its willingness to expand through inorganic growth, reinforcing the market’s view that the firm has multiple avenues for revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Morgan Stanley’s stock has climbed near its 52-week high, which may be drawing attention to valuation and limiting upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.97 from $12.00, a minor change that does not appear to have altered the broader bullish tone.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to frame Morgan Stanley’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, and the stock’s proximity to its 52-week high may prompt profit-taking.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $214.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $193.73 and its 200-day moving average is $180.84. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $128.81 and a fifty-two week high of $219.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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.

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