Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Has $647,000 Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3,946.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,552 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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: 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

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the 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 directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7%

MS opened at $164.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $260.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.91 and its 200-day moving average is $168.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.