Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 2,854 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lmcg Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 60,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,560,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 29,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,147,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the second quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 102,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,368,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.23.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: MS reported $2.68 EPS (above consensus) with net income and operating profit up year‑over‑year, driven by wealth management and a rebound in investment banking. Morgan Stanley Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase / cash return: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, a signal of confidence and an income tailwind for yield‑sensitive holders. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price‑target lifts: Several firms (including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods) raised their targets/ratings after the print, which can underpin longer‑term upside. Analyst Price Target Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Morgan Stanley benefits from a hot IPO/dealmaking environment and wealth‑management flows — management flagged a strong pipeline for 2026 but that outlook is already being priced in. Pipeline Comment
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakness: The quarter showed a material swing to negative operating cash flow (cited ~-$3.3B), raising questions about short‑term cash dynamics despite large liquidity buffers. Cash Flow Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple senior executives have sold shares in recent months which can signal management cash‑outs and adds to near‑term selling pressure. Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue vs. expectations and “sell the news”: Revenue slightly missed some consensus figures; combined with investors taking profits after the post‑earnings pop, this explains downward pressure today. Revenue & Market Reaction

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $189.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $300.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 1.22 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were 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 approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.