Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Pinnbrook Capital Management opened a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter, buying 46,839 shares valued at about $8.3 million. The stake makes MS its 25th-largest holding and about 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Morgan Stanley’s institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 84.19% of the stock. Several large investors, including Vanguard and Thrivent, increased their positions during the period.
• Recent fundamentals and analyst sentiment are constructive: Morgan Stanley beat quarterly earnings estimates with $3.43 EPS on $20.58 billion in revenue, and its dividend yields about 2.0%. Analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target price of $205.95.

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 46,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,315,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.2% of Pinnbrook Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 worth $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $200.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $178.27 and a 200-day moving average of $175.83. The company has a market cap of $316.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $200.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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