Premier Fund Managers Ltd Purchases Shares of 62,200 Morgan Stanley $MS

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 62,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $193.13 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $118.20 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.33 and a 200-day moving average of $173.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business 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 company earned $2.60 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be 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 is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.17.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is piloting spot crypto trading on its E*Trade retail platform (charging ~50 bps per trade) with plans to scale to ~8.6M users — a new recurring fee engine that could lift retail trading revenue, drive client engagement and pressure rivals’ pricing. Morgan Stanley Undercuts Coinbase, Robinhood On BTC, ETH, SOL Trading Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa Securities raised its MS price target to $198 (from $175) — an analyst move that signals improved expectations for earnings and supports valuation momentum. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley to $198
• Positive Sentiment: MS led construction‑sector M&A advisory by deal value in Q1, highlighting strong investment‑banking activity in a sizable vertical (supporting fee pools). This underscores ongoing IB strength beyond macro headlines. Morgan Stanley tops construction sector M&A rankings by value in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: MS became the first international bank to join Abu Dhabi’s ADX as a Remote Trading Member — a distribution/markets expansion that may widen institutional client access to Middle East liquidity and strengthen global markets revenue. ADX welcomes Morgan Stanley as the first international investment bank Remote Trading Member
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research (on AI capex and commodities) continues to influence markets — helpful for MS’s institutional/research franchise but not an immediate earnings driver for the stock. Useful context for cyclical IB and capital‑markets flows. Morgan Stanley sees big-tech AI capex surge
• Negative Sentiment: The Wall Street Journal and Reuters report a U.S. probe into Morgan Stanley’s Budapest investment‑banking program — a regulatory issue that could carry operational and reputational risk depending on scope and findings; investors should monitor disclosures and any potential fines or business impacts. Morgan Stanley investment banking program in Budapest hit by U.S. probe

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.