Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 166,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,477 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $200 and reiterated an Outperform view, reinforcing bullish sentiment from analysts. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists said the stock market can still benefit from AI-driven growth, but they also warned that a bond-market selloff could pressure risk assets and trigger a broader pullback. Financial Post
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley note said the Fed may stay on hold before cutting rates again in 2027, which reflects a measured macro view rather than a direct company-specific catalyst. TheStreet

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $189.58 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.35. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $123.88 and a twelve month high of $197.50. The company has a market capitalization of $299.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.