Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $33.10 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 186,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,995 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $2,736,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $170,037,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,326,000 after buying an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $187 from $179 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations even though the new target still implies downside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s “wide awake” posture on M&A opportunities as the bank pursues a $10 trillion wealth-management ambition, which could support longer-term growth through acquisitions in advisors, private markets, and alternatives.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional reports emphasized Morgan Stanley’s continued strength in wealth management and its willingness to expand through inorganic growth, reinforcing the market’s view that the firm has multiple avenues for revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Morgan Stanley’s stock has climbed near its 52-week high, which may be drawing attention to valuation and limiting upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.97 from $12.00, a minor change that does not appear to have altered the broader bullish tone.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to frame Morgan Stanley’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, and the stock’s proximity to its 52-week high may prompt profit-taking.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $214.19 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $128.81 and a 12-month high of $219.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.