Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in 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 valued at $196,311,000 after buying an additional 741,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $104,097,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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%

NYSE:MS opened at $166.04 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.42. The stock 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.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.