Capital International Inc. CA Purchases 57,404 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,404 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $42,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at improving cost efficiency and operational flexibility — investors may view this as margin‑enhancing over time if execution and one‑time charges are controlled. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research remains active and visible: the firm reinstated Nvidia as a top AI chip pick (showing strong franchise in semiconductor coverage) and has been adjusting price targets for clients such as Grainger and Travelers — positive for recurring research/IB visibility but indirect for MS’s stock performance. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market commentary (saying the U.S. market should outperform and that the S&P 500 rolling correction may be nearing an end) reinforces its investment‑bank research positioning — helpful for business reputation but not an immediate catalyst for MS shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong‑buy” to “hold” — a direct sell‑side signal that can pressure the stock by reducing buy‑side conviction and prompting short‑term selling. Article Title

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $160.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $255.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. 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’s fifty day moving average is $177.81 and its 200 day moving average is $168.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

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.