Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 216.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,962 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $177.57 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.27 and a 200-day moving average of $169.90. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $102.89 and a 52-week high of $192.68. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $280.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), the first spot Bitcoin ETF issued by a major U.S. bank and priced with a very low 0.14% fee — a distribution advantage to Morgan Stanley’s ~16,000 financial advisors and a potential new AUM/fee stream. Bitcoin ETF Era Expands — Article
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT attracted ~$30–34M of inflows/trading on its first day — an encouraging initial demand signal that should help AUM growth over time if distribution converts into sustained flows. First-day inflows — Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings are due April 15; consensus previews expect robust trading and IB fee strength (Zacks highlights ~$19.6B revenue and ~$3.08 EPS consensus). Results — and management comments on trading, IB pipeline, and wealth- and ETF-related flows — are the next major catalysts. Q1 preview — Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are actively reworking forecasts and price targets ahead of Q1 (upgrades and downgrades both appear). That creates mixed near-term sentiment and volatility as the street re-prices MS on updated trading/wealth assumptions. Analyst revisions — Article
• Negative Sentiment: MS’s low-fee Bitcoin ETF could spark broader fee competition across issuers; analysts warn a fee war may compress margins for ETF providers and asset managers — an industry headwind if sustained. That dynamic may pressure perceived long-term profitability from the ETF channel. Fee war concerns — Article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.94.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.