TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Acquires 65,386 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 31.4%, buying an additional 65,386 shares to hold 273,507 shares valued at $48,558,000.
• Morgan Stanley reported a Q1 beat (EPS $3.43 vs. $3.02 and revenue $20.58B vs. $19.23B), launched a spot Bitcoin ETF that drew over $100M in its first week, and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30).
• Institutional investors own about 84.2% of the stock, analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target near $199.67, while insiders sold roughly 195,549 shares in the last quarter.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,386 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $48,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position 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 buying an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 741,651 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $104,097,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: revenue and EPS surprised on the upside, driven by strong trading and investment‑banking performance and continued wealth‑management flows — the core earnings beat is the primary driver of investor optimism. MS Q1 Deep Dive: Wealth and Investment Banking Deliver
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT (Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF) has drawn >$100M in its first week — a fast start that supports asset‑gathering momentum and fee diversification at the firm. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Tops $100 Million in Six Days
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is increasing MS valuation assumptions: several firms raised price targets and upgraded outlooks after Q1 (Bank of America, Evercore, Argus, Keefe Bruyette & Woods among them), which supports further upside narratives. Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and capital return: Morgan Stanley announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30), signaling confidence in cash generation and returning capital to shareholders (income‑supporting but not an earnings catalyst).
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing investment banking / underwriting activity (including large debt syndications) highlights the firm’s franchise utility in markets — positive for fee pipelines but cyclically sensitive to capital‑markets activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational overhang: Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Fed records tied to a Fed nominee’s past actions that reference Morgan Stanley; while not an immediate earnings issue, it increases political/regulatory headline risk. Elizabeth Warren Challenges Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts still express caution: a few firms kept conservative ratings or raised PTs while maintaining neutral/hold views (e.g., HSBC/Rothschild adjustments), which can cap near‑term upside and prompt mixed trading. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Evercore increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $199.67.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $188.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $104.78 and a 52-week high of $194.59. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $168.83 and its 200-day moving average is $170.85.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 195,549 shares of company stock worth $36,260,510 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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