Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,914 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $45,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $187 from $179 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations even though the new target still implies downside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s “wide awake” posture on M&A opportunities as the bank pursues a $10 trillion wealth-management ambition, which could support longer-term growth through acquisitions in advisors, private markets, and alternatives.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional reports emphasized Morgan Stanley’s continued strength in wealth management and its willingness to expand through inorganic growth, reinforcing the market’s view that the firm has multiple avenues for revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Morgan Stanley’s stock has climbed near its 52-week high, which may be drawing attention to valuation and limiting upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.97 from $12.00, a minor change that does not appear to have altered the broader bullish tone.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to frame Morgan Stanley’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, and the stock’s proximity to its 52-week high may prompt profit-taking.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $214.19 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $128.81 and a 12 month high of $219.16. The stock has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.84.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid 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 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Dbs Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were 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 directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.