Morgan Stanley $MS is Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s 6th Largest Position

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,734,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 414,049 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 4.9% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.17% of Morgan Stanley worth $485,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,097,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Major broker price-target raises: Bank of America boosted its MS target to $225 (Buy) citing management messaging and business momentum — an analyst-level endorsement that tends to support buying interest. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley to $225
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital also raised its price target to $220 and kept Outperform — another institutional signal likely to attract demand from research-driven funds. BMO Capital adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $220
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have surged recently and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT (its spot BTC ETF) has pulled meaningful inflows — positive for MS’s wealth/asset-management fee narrative and AUM growth potential. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add $996M as Flows Near Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and media coverage: recent write-ups and weekly performance commentary (MS up vs. peers) can draw ETF and momentum flows into MS stock. That technical interest can amplify analyst-driven moves. MS up 6.29% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing research activity: Morgan Stanley’s research franchise remains active (new coverage/targets across T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and others). That strengthens the firm’s advisory/research positioning but is a longer-term reputation signal rather than an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley Assumes Coverage of T‑Mobile
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst chatter about MS strategy and stock picks (e.g., memory/AI calls) highlights the firm’s market role but doesn’t directly change MS earnings—so mixed/neutral near term. 5 Morgan Stanley Stock Picks Leading 2026 Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: MS disclosed an Eric F. Grossman sale of 11,118 shares (~$2.1M) and other insider disposals were reported — aggregated insider sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if they’re for personal/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Eric Grossman
• Negative Sentiment: Additional SEC-filed insider sales reported in media (multi-million dollar disposals) amplify the negative read for some investors and can pressure the stock despite positive analyst notes. Morgan Stanley Insider Sells

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

MS stock opened at $189.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $299.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $169.22 and a 200 day moving average of $171.32. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $107.97 and a twelve month high of $194.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

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.