Rathbones Group PLC Sells 66,494 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC sold 66,494 shares of Morgan Stanley, trimming its stake by 8.6% to 705,425 shares valued at about $125.23 million at quarter end.
• Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley beat quarterly estimates with $2.68 EPS vs. $2.28 expected and $17.90 billion in revenue (up 10.3% YoY), and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00, ~2.4% yield).
• Institutional ownership is high at 84.19%, with major activity including new and enlarged stakes from Junto, Marshall Wace, Ameriprise, Two Sigma and Danske Bank — collectively representing large, multi‑hundred‑million dollar moves.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 705,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,494 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $125,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $196,311,000 after purchasing an additional 741,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $104,097,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley signaled a near‑term launch for a bitcoin ETF after filing Amendment No. 4 — a potential positive for future asset‑management AUM and fee revenue if the product attracts institutional flows. Morgan Stanley Signals Bitcoin ETF Near Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/research coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings‑surprise history and argues MS is positioned to beat again — this underpins investor confidence in MS’s core wealth & investment banking franchise and its recurring advisory/trading revenue. Will Morgan Stanley (MS) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research published an “earnings‑surprise composite” and a list of stocks poised for surprises — a reminder MS’s research product can drive client engagement and trading flow but is not an immediate earnings event for the bank itself. These 10 stocks are poised for earnings surprises in April: Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector‑rotation study — useful for gauging client retail flows and sentiment across sectors but unlikely to move MS’s stock on its own. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights recent soft share‑price performance and a modest pullback over the past quarter — valuation and short‑term momentum concerns could limit upside near term. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation After Recent Soft Share Price Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Recent MS research activity (downgrades/target trims on other companies, e.g., Bank of America, Lufthansa coverage) signals a more cautious macro/sector stance from the bank’s analysts — this can reduce risk appetite in the short term and slightly dampen trading commissions tied to volatile sectors. Morgan Stanley Trims BAC Target to $61

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $166.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $263.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $185.73.

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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