Mirabaud & Cie SA Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Mirabaud & Cie SA reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 95.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,477 shares during the quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after buying an additional 448,960 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in 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 buying an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after buying an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,443,926,000 after buying an additional 249,023 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: E*Trade (Morgan Stanley’s retail arm) is in talks to lead SpaceX’s U.S. retail IPO allocation — if confirmed this would strengthen MS’s retail distribution and fee pipeline and could boost E*Trade account activity and underwriting revenue. Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade in talks to lead SpaceX IPO share sale to small investors in US: Sources
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research cut its MS price target (221→197) but maintained an “Outperform” rating — signals continued buy-side conviction from a major shop despite a model reset, supporting upside expectations. Wolfe Research adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $197 from $221; maintains Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategic push into alternatives (EquityZen deal, private credit growth) is highlighted as an AUM-growth catalyst — a longer-term revenue diversification story that could lift fee income and valuation multiple. Morgan Stanley’s Push Into Alternatives: Is It an AUM Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: coverage noting billionaire Paul Tudor Jones is bullish on Morgan Stanley reinforces demand-side narrative among some institutional investors. Morgan Stanley (MS): Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones Is Bullish on This Banking Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists recommended a more defensive positioning for clients (higher cash/Treasury allocations) — this is a macro view that can temper sector rotation and volatility but is not a direct company-specific catalyst. It’s time to get defensive, say Morgan Stanley strategists. Hold more cash and make these moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn trimmed their PT on MS to $171 and kept a neutral rating — a downward revision that can weigh on near-term sentiment. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $171 from $175; maintains Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC lowered its MS price target to $153 and kept a Hold rating — the cut increases the number of outside analysts signaling limited near-term upside and may pressure headline sentiment. HSBC adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $153 from $175; maintains Hold

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MS opened at $166.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $169.78 and a 200 day moving average of $169.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.