Todd Asset Management LLC Has $60.27 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Todd Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 379,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,533 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.2% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $60,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,407,000 after acquiring an additional 21,458 shares during the period. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $855,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley is being framed as catalyzing a rebound in technology IPO activity — investors see this as potentially boosting MS’s investment banking fees and market positioning in the tech IPO cycle. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management is reportedly exploring a ~$500M continuation vehicle for India healthcare assets — a sign the firm is leveraging its asset‑management platform to generate fee income and secondary-market activity. That bolsters the revenue mix beyond trading/IB. Morgan Stanley said to consider $500 million India fund, shifts some assets
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Research is publishing bullish thematic work (private AVs, AI/semiconductors and “buy‑the‑dip” views on resilient software names) that supports expectations for advisory and sales flow into technology and infrastructure sectors where MS has coverage and syndication presence. That research momentum can lift investor sentiment. Private AV Startups are About to Take Over U.S. Streets
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., recommended AI‑chip names) and analyst notes highlighting buy opportunities in software/semiconductors help the firm’s visible franchise, but are indirect drivers of near‑term stock moves — they mainly influence flow into sectors MS covers. SNDK or QCOM: Morgan Stanley Picks One Top AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, reporting that CEO Ted Pick’s total pay rose ~32% to ~$45M draws governance and cost scrutiny — some investors interpret large executive pay increases as a potential negative for shareholder alignment and a near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $171.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $272.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.86 and its 200 day moving average is $165.27. 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 has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the transaction, 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 position. 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 ninety days. 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.