Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Invests $2.07 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 286,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,554,000 after acquiring an additional 21,702 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.1% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights Morgan Stanley’s wealth & asset-management business as a durable, recurring-revenue engine that now accounts for the majority of firm revenues — a structural strength that supports more predictable fee income and helps justify a higher multiple for MS. MS Wealth & Asset Management Moat
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/AmericanBankingNews notes the brokerage consensus on MS is “Moderate Buy,” reflecting broad analyst support after the company’s January quarter results and forward outlook — analyst backing tends to support upward price moves. Consensus Recommendation: Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: President Trump’s reported selection of former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the nominee for Fed chair (Warsh has Morgan Stanley banking ties) is being discussed in the market; any perceived “connection” is indirect and more reputational than financial for MS, so impact is uncertain/likely muted. Warsh Named as Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes and commentary by Morgan Stanley strategists (e.g., observations on bond-market dislocations and sector calls) underline the firm’s active research and trading flow — positive for fee and trading revenue over time but not an immediate catalyst. Morgan Stanley Exec on Bond Market
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: MS insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares at about $182.61 (~$6.0M). The trade reduces his stake materially (reported ~8.45% of his holdings) — sizable insider sales can create short-term selling pressure or signal personal liquidity needs, though one sale alone is not definitive about firm fundamentals. Insider Sale Filing

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $182.81 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $290.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 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, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is 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.