Aberdeen Group plc Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,120,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,938 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $198,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,926,000 after purchasing an additional 249,023 shares during the period. 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 Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $166.04 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $263.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.18.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley signaled a Bitcoin ETF is near launch after Amendment No. 4 filings — this could drive new AUM, product-fee income and intensify competition in institutional crypto products. Morgan Stanley Signals Bitcoin ETF Near Launch
• Positive Sentiment: E*TRADE (Morgan Stanley’s retail arm) is in talks to lead a SpaceX IPO retail allocation — winning large retail allocations could boost E*TRADE’s market share, transaction revenue and brand with everyday investors. E*TRADE in talks to lead SpaceX IPO retail sale
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/earnings previews note Morgan Stanley’s strong surprise history and place the firm in a good position to beat upcoming quarterly estimates — supportive for sentiment into earnings. Will Morgan Stanley (MS) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation data — useful for positioning and client flows but unlikely to move MS shares materially by itself. E*TRADE Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation write-ups note recent soft short-term price action but strong multi-year returns — frames risk/reward for longer-term investors rather than an immediate catalyst. A Look At Morgan Stanley Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple sell‑side firms trimmed price targets (Wolfe, Rothschild/Redburn, HSBC among others), producing downward pressure on sentiment — some cuts leave implied upside limited or turn neutral/hold, which can weigh on the stock near term. Wolfe Research adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley HSBC adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley

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.