Amica Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 5,994 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,994 shares during the quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,311 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,407,000 after purchasing an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $855,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of MS stock opened at $171.40 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $272.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley is being framed as catalyzing a rebound in technology IPO activity — investors see this as potentially boosting MS’s investment banking fees and market positioning in the tech IPO cycle. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management is reportedly exploring a ~$500M continuation vehicle for India healthcare assets — a sign the firm is leveraging its asset‑management platform to generate fee income and secondary-market activity. That bolsters the revenue mix beyond trading/IB. Morgan Stanley said to consider $500 million India fund, shifts some assets
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Research is publishing bullish thematic work (private AVs, AI/semiconductors and “buy‑the‑dip” views on resilient software names) that supports expectations for advisory and sales flow into technology and infrastructure sectors where MS has coverage and syndication presence. That research momentum can lift investor sentiment. Private AV Startups are About to Take Over U.S. Streets
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., recommended AI‑chip names) and analyst notes highlighting buy opportunities in software/semiconductors help the firm’s visible franchise, but are indirect drivers of near‑term stock moves — they mainly influence flow into sectors MS covers. SNDK or QCOM: Morgan Stanley Picks One Top AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, reporting that CEO Ted Pick’s total pay rose ~32% to ~$45M draws governance and cost scrutiny — some investors interpret large executive pay increases as a potential negative for shareholder alignment and a near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million

About Morgan Stanley

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.