Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,411,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 274,934 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,337,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 758,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,809 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $260,000. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% 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’s market team (Michael Wilson) said the S&P 500 may be “closer to the end” of the recent rolling correction — a call that can lift investor sentiment and boost trading/wealth-management flows that benefit MS. S&P 500: Morgan Stanley says ’we’re closer to the end of this rolling correction’
• Positive Sentiment: The firm announced a restructuring that trims about 2,500 jobs (~3% of workforce) aimed at improving cost efficiency and margins — investors often view targeted cuts as margin-accretion moves that support EPS over time. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency And Long Term Growth Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research continues to move the tape: the bank raised coverage/targets on names such as Travelers (TRV) and upgraded other stocks, which reinforces MS’s role as a market-moving sell-side franchise that supports fee revenue. Morgan Stanley Raises The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) Target on Underwriting Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity is mixed (upgrades and downgrades across sectors — e.g., Novo Nordisk upgrade, IBM PT cut). That keeps MS prominent on headlines but produces mixed signals for trading flow and reputation effects. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) to Equal Weight From Underweight – Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research and wealth teams flag political and geopolitical risks (a published list of seven risks) that could keep volatility elevated — higher volatility can hurt markets and reduce deal activity and asset-gathering. That is a headwind for banks and wealth managers like MS. Morgan Stanley identifies 7 political risks hitting investors

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $160.70 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.14. The company has a market capitalization of $255.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

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.