Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 3,435 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,435 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MS stock opened at $185.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $294.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. 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 Friday, January 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is advising Apartment Investment & Management on a liquidation plan — a visible investment‑banking engagement that can generate advisory fees and reinforces MS’s deal pipeline. Apartment Investment Advances Liquidation Plan with Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley survey cited by PYMNTS found Walmart+ membership continues double‑digit growth — a sign MS research is producing timely retail intelligence that helps the firm win institutional clients and supports its equity research franchise. Walmart+ Paid Membership Program Continued Double-Digit Growth in January
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research headlines (e.g., maintaining Buy on Cloudflare; bullish Microsoft thesis) underline the firm’s visible analyst activity — good for franchise credibility but indirect for MS stock performance. Morgan Stanley Maintains a Buy on Cloudflare (NET) ‘Down but Not Out’: Morgan Stanley Sees 50% Upside for Microsoft Stock After Selloff
• Neutral Sentiment: Comments from MS strategists (e.g., view that the appointment of Kevin Warsh stabilizes policy credibility) can bolster market risk appetite, indirectly helping trading and wealth businesses. The appointment of Kevin Warsh is a market stabilizing mechanism, claims Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale of MS stock (~$6.0M) was reported — routine but may draw short‑term attention from traders focused on insider activity. The size is modest relative to MS market cap. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells $6,020,286.48 in Stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.