Retirement Planning Group LLC Purchases Shares of 3,013 Morgan Stanley $MS

Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the third quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has filed for spot crypto ETFs (Bitcoin and Solana) and is moving into crypto services — a potential new AUM and fee revenue stream that investors view as strategic diversification and distribution capability. Get Ready for Crypto Exposure as Morgan Stanley Joins the ETF Race
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage reports that Morgan Stanley plans to launch a cryptocurrency wallet — another revenue/product initiative that could deepen client engagement and capture crypto flows. Morgan Stanley Plans to Launch Cryptocurrency Wallet
• Positive Sentiment: MS’s private-equity arm took a majority stake in engineering firm Olsson — shows continued deal activity from MSPE and potential near-term realized value and longer-term fee/carry upside. Morgan Stanley’s PE unit takes majority stake in engineering firm Olsson
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market outlets are updating forecasts ahead of Morgan Stanley’s Q4 earnings release (scheduled this week). Expectations and revisions can increase short‑term volatility but also set the stage for upside if MS beats on trading/AUM. Top Wall Street Forecasters Revamp Morgan Stanley Expectations Ahead Of Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews highlight that trading and investment-banking results will be watched closely (those lines drive quarter-to-quarter swings in revenue). This is informational — may amplify moves after the print. Earnings Preview: Morgan Stanley to Report This Week
• Positive Sentiment: Public commentary (Jim Cramer) and analyst write-ups highlight strong recent asset‑gathering at Morgan Stanley — positive signal for recurring fee revenue and wealth management momentum. Jim Cramer Says “The Asset Gathering in Morgan Stanley Has Been Extraordinary”
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and banking-sector weakness (other banks’ volatility and index declines) is weighing on financial names, increasing downside risk for MS into earnings even if company fundamentals are stable. SPY is down 1.0% today, on BAC stock price movement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays boosted their price target 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 upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

MS opened at $180.77 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $188.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.09. The stock has a market cap of $287.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.