TIAA Trust National Association Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association boosted its Morgan Stanley stake by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 24,379 shares and bringing its total holding to 171,630 shares worth about $30.5 million.
• Insiders sold shares during the period, including Andrew M. Saperstein and Daniel A. Simkowitz, and Morgan Stanley insiders collectively sold 77,476 shares worth $14.6 million over the last quarter.
• Morgan Stanley’s fundamentals and outlook remained solid: the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, and analysts currently hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $205.95 price target.

TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,379 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value 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. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in several bullish sell-side notes, including a Zacks upgrade to Buy and multiple reports pointing to stronger earnings prospects and continued upside in financials. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank is being tied to major AI and capital-markets opportunities, including a Reuters report that Morgan Stanley expects AI-related debt issuance to surge in 2026 as hyperscalers fund heavy capex, and a Fortune piece saying it is competing for lead-underwriter roles ahead of major AI IPOs like OpenAI and Anthropic. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: At Morgan Stanley’s U.S. Financials Conference, the company continued to showcase itself as an active player in the sector, while other banks such as Capital One and Huntington also presented—reinforcing that the market is focused on the broader financials backdrop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank also drew attention for opening AI access to its equity platforms and for positive analyst commentary on names it covers, which supports the narrative that Morgan Stanley is leaning into technology-enabled revenue streams and advisory activity. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some of the recent coverage around Morgan Stanley’s own stock has been mixed, with the shares still sitting below recent highs and investors remaining selective despite the upbeat strategic headlines.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. 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, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MS opened at $210.21 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $190.83 and its 200 day moving average is $179.89. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $128.81 and a fifty-two week high of $219.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 36.23%.

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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