AMF Tjanstepension AB Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

AMF Tjanstepension AB lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 349,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,652 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $62,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in 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 during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after buying an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after buying an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after buying an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.26.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own analysis of broader markets remains constructive, with strategists saying equities still have upside support from AI-driven growth and employment trends, even as they flag recession and bond-market risks. That keeps the firm visible in the ongoing AI-led market narrative. Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Equities While Flagging Recession Risks Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also helped fuel bullish sentiment in semiconductors by raising its revenue estimate for Nvidia ahead of earnings and highlighting continued upside potential, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s influence in high-profile growth themes that investors are still rewarding. Morgan Stanley Lifts Nvidia Stock (NVDA) Price Target Ahead of Q1 Earnings, Sees ‘Continued Upside to Numbers’
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market headlines show Morgan Stanley-linked commentary spanning everything from AI infrastructure to energy and utilities, suggesting the bank is well positioned around major investor themes, though none of these articles directly change MS fundamentals today.
• Negative Sentiment: At the same time, the firm warned that a bond selloff could trigger a meaningful stock-market correction. That caution may temper enthusiasm and explains why any move higher in Morgan Stanley (MS) is modest rather than explosive. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Warns Stock Rally at Risk From Bond Rout

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $197.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

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.