NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 20,124 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,124 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $13,272,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 63.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 386,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,678,000 after acquiring an additional 150,054 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Point Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key 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.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

MS opened at $214.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.73 and its 200-day moving average is $180.84. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $128.81 and a 1-year high of $219.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target 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, April 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

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.