State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.1%, selling 8,914 shares to end the quarter with 413,716 shares worth about $73.45 million.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly expectations, reporting $3.43 EPS versus $3.02 consensus and revenue of $20.58 billion (up 16% year‑over‑year), supporting stronger analyst targets and a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (ex‑dividend April 30, payable May 15), equivalent to an annualized $4.00 payout and a ~2.2% yield.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 413,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,914 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $73,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in 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 buying an additional 741,651 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $185.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $171.20 and its 200-day moving average is $172.62. The company has a market cap of $292.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $112.03 and a 1 year high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a "Strong Buy" (Zacks rank #1). Analyst upgrades can attract short-term buying and support the stock if other catalysts align. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts for Morgan Stanley, lifting consensus earnings expectations — a fundamental vote of confidence that can help the stock’s valuation over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management led an $875M senior-debt financing for Bridgepointe Technologies (shows the firm winning mandate and fee income opportunities in private credit). That business momentum is supportive for MS’s investment‑management franchise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is an underwriter on recent IPO activity (e.g., Avalyn Pharma). Investment-banking and underwriting fees help revenue, but timing and size of revenue recognition can be volatile. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research (economic call) flagged sticky core inflation and a later Fed easing path. That analysis matters for market expectations and MS’s trading and wealth-management flows, but the net investor reaction can go either way. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness this morning (S&P/SPY drag from earnings and tech/optics moves) is a likely headwind — Morgan Stanley, which has market-sensitive businesses, often trades with market flow. Short-term selling in major ETFs is cited in market summaries. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and profit‑taking risk: MS is trading near its 12‑month high and above its 50/200‑day moving averages — that can prompt short-term trimming by momentum players after recent gains (increased volatility near highs). See the stock profile for the technical context. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,444 shares of company stock worth $20,665,049. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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