C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Sells 4,765 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 59.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,765 shares during the quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 6,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley signaled a near‑term launch for a bitcoin ETF after filing Amendment No. 4 — a potential positive for future asset‑management AUM and fee revenue if the product attracts institutional flows. Morgan Stanley Signals Bitcoin ETF Near Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/research coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings‑surprise history and argues MS is positioned to beat again — this underpins investor confidence in MS’s core wealth & investment banking franchise and its recurring advisory/trading revenue. Will Morgan Stanley (MS) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research published an “earnings‑surprise composite” and a list of stocks poised for surprises — a reminder MS’s research product can drive client engagement and trading flow but is not an immediate earnings event for the bank itself. These 10 stocks are poised for earnings surprises in April: Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector‑rotation study — useful for gauging client retail flows and sentiment across sectors but unlikely to move MS’s stock on its own. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights recent soft share‑price performance and a modest pullback over the past quarter — valuation and short‑term momentum concerns could limit upside near term. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation After Recent Soft Share Price Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Recent MS research activity (downgrades/target trims on other companies, e.g., Bank of America, Lufthansa coverage) signals a more cautious macro/sector stance from the bank’s analysts — this can reduce risk appetite in the short term and slightly dampen trading commissions tied to volatile sectors. Morgan Stanley Trims BAC Target to $61

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $166.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $169.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $263.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’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 earned $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.73.

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.