Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in Q4, buying 23,058 shares to own 833,419 shares worth about $147.96 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 expectations—EPS $3.43 vs. $3.02 and revenue $20.58B vs. $19.23B (revenue +16% YoY)—and has near-term catalysts including early flows into its MSBT spot-Bitcoin ETF, several analyst upgrades, and a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annual $4.00, yield ~2.1%).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 833,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,058 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $147,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 24,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,283,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 24,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,360,000 after buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 4,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 34,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,211,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Facet Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 2,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from "hold" to "buy" this morning — a direct catalyst that can attract demand from institutional and retail buyers following a ratings change.
• Positive Sentiment: Trade press highlighted MS as one of three top investment-banking names to buy after solid Q1 results and upbeat outlooks, reinforcing the view that capital-markets strength and AI-related initiatives support the revenue trajectory. Buy These 3 Investment Bank Giants After Solid Q1 Earnings and Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed attention on Morgan Stanley’s MSBT spot-Bitcoin ETF is supporting the stock — industry coverage argues MSBT could gain share vs. incumbents, which would lift asset-management fees and trading flow revenue. Bitcoin ETF: Three Reasons Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Could Overtake BlackRock’s IBIT BTC ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto press noted early flows into MS’s MSBT product (coverage citing a $100M+ debut-week tally), signaling tangible AUM traction for MS’s digital-asset distribution efforts — a near-term revenue-growth narrative. Best Crypto Presale 2026: Will Pepeto’s $9.45M Beat Bitcoin Hyper and LiquidChain to the Finish Line?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research and commentary getting press (MarketWatch coverage) that markets face shallow pullbacks and that AI/capex trends reduce downside risk — this helps sentiment broadly but is a macro, not MS-specific, support. Why Morgan Stanley sees little possibility of a stock-market retreat
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage citing Morgan Stanley research that AI is boosting output (positive for the economy and investment banking activity over time) reinforces MS’s advisory/markets franchise positioning but is an indirect driver today. AI is boosting output rather than cutting jobs: analyst

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock worth $20,665,049. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MS opened at $190.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $300.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, 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 has a fifty-two week low of $112.03 and a fifty-two week high of $194.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $201.89.

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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