MML Investors Services LLC Increases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 503,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,178 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $89,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $2,736,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $170,037,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $214.19 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $193.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.97. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $128.81 and a twelve month high of $219.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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.