BDF Gestion Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $164.26 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s stock is benefitting from positive market commentary that highlights the firm’s recent outperformance and investor interest. A MarketBeat/Zacks write-up notes MS outpaced a broader market upswing today, reflecting supportive momentum for the bank-stock cohort following solid fundamentals. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and favorable blue‑chip rankings are supporting the tape — coverage summaries today flagged a Street upgrade/positive ranking for Morgan Stanley that can boost sentiment and attract momentum flows from funds that follow analyst action. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Income-focused investors are getting a reminder that MS remains attractive as a dividend paying bank — a Zacks piece outlines why Morgan Stanley’s dividend profile and payout stability make it appealing for yield-seeking investors, which can underpin demand from income funds. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research influence is visible in market moves elsewhere — the firm’s iPhone survey and other sector notes (e.g., on Apple) keep MS prominent in market headlines, which supports brand/flow effects but is not a direct driver of MS’s core earnings. Article
• Negative Sentiment: A headwind: Bloomberg/Yahoo report that Morgan Stanley (with Cliffwater) capped withdrawals from large private‑credit funds after redemptions exceeded limits. That signals redemption pressure in alternatives the firm manages — a reputational and potential earnings risk if flows or valuations remain challenged — and it may cap upside until clarity on fund liquidity and investor confidence returns. Article

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.