Wealth Science Advisors LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Wealth Science Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $807,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.5% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $188.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $298.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $111.24 and a 52 week high of $194.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched a Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio (MSNXX) that lets stablecoin issuers park reserves in a Morgan Stanley money‑market vehicle; the program requires a $10M minimum and positions MS to capture fees from regulated stablecoin reserve flows. Morgan Stanley launches stablecoin offering through money market fund
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional crypto demand is showing up in MS product flows — Morgan Stanley’s bitcoin-tracking ETF (MSBT) took in meaningful early inflows, underlining distribution strength for digital-asset products at its wealth and investment‑management channels. $138M Bitcoin Play Triggers Rally, Signals Shift In Big Money Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: NZX accredited Morgan Stanley as a Clearing Participant ahead of the S&P/NZX 20 futures launch — a small but strategic win that expands MS’s institutional footprint in derivatives clearing and local market services. NZX Adds Morgan Stanley as Clearing Participant Ahead of S&P/NZX 20 Futures Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks highlights Morgan Stanley’s capital‑markets muscle and growth in wealth management — both drivers of revenue — but also flags rising expenses and trading volatility as risks to margin and future EPS. That makes the near‑term outlook mixed. The Zacks Analyst Blog UnitedHealth, Morgan Stanley, RTX, Homes Group and Motorsport
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Institute released a “Sustainable Signals” survey showing steady retail interest in sustainable investing — a reputation/flows positive but not an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley Sustainable Signals: Individual Investors Remain Positive on Sustainable Investing
• Negative Sentiment: Some Morgan Stanley research (highlighted by TheStreet) is taking a dour view on US growth (GDP), which can feed into broader market volatility and weigh investor appetite for cyclical banking/markets exposure — a potential headwind for MS trading revenue. Morgan Stanley drops stunning take on GDP outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.33.

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.