Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $116.48 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 656,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,675 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $116,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" 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 report on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, CICC Research raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $214.19 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $128.81 and a 52-week high of $219.16. The stock has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average is $193.73 and its 200-day moving average is $180.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

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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