Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 12,064 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.7%, buying 12,064 shares to hold 271,375 shares worth about $48.18 million after the quarter.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: insiders sold 77,476 shares over the past 90 days totaling roughly $14.64 million, including recent individual sales by Eric F. Grossman and Daniel A. Simkowitz.
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 estimates (EPS $3.43 vs. $3.02; revenue $20.58B vs. $19.23B) and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, while strategic moves (piloting spot crypto trading) and a U.S. probe into its Budapest investment‑banking program create mixed near‑term catalysts and risks.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 271,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,064 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $48,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in 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 worth $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $196,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE MS opened at $193.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $305.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $118.20 and a twelve month high of $194.83. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $172.33 and its 200 day moving average is $173.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm 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 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is piloting spot crypto trading on its E*Trade retail platform (charging ~50 bps per trade) with plans to scale to ~8.6M users — a new recurring fee engine that could lift retail trading revenue, drive client engagement and pressure rivals’ pricing. Morgan Stanley Undercuts Coinbase, Robinhood On BTC, ETH, SOL Trading Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa Securities raised its MS price target to $198 (from $175) — an analyst move that signals improved expectations for earnings and supports valuation momentum. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley to $198
• Positive Sentiment: MS led construction‑sector M&A advisory by deal value in Q1, highlighting strong investment‑banking activity in a sizable vertical (supporting fee pools). This underscores ongoing IB strength beyond macro headlines. Morgan Stanley tops construction sector M&A rankings by value in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: MS became the first international bank to join Abu Dhabi’s ADX as a Remote Trading Member — a distribution/markets expansion that may widen institutional client access to Middle East liquidity and strengthen global markets revenue. ADX welcomes Morgan Stanley as the first international investment bank Remote Trading Member
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research (on AI capex and commodities) continues to influence markets — helpful for MS’s institutional/research franchise but not an immediate earnings driver for the stock. Useful context for cyclical IB and capital‑markets flows. Morgan Stanley sees big-tech AI capex surge
• Negative Sentiment: The Wall Street Journal and Reuters report a U.S. probe into Morgan Stanley’s Budapest investment‑banking program — a regulatory issue that could carry operational and reputational risk depending on scope and findings; investors should monitor disclosures and any potential fines or business impacts. Morgan Stanley investment banking program in Budapest hit by U.S. probe

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.17.

Morgan Stanley 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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