FNY Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 679.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,963 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.1% of FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $166.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $263.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

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.