Quilter Plc Sells 4,461 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Quilter Plc reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,461 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $240,000. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 10,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,535,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 87.6% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $284.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.93 and a 200-day moving average of $161.18. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 196,223 shares of company stock valued at $34,150,220. Corporate insiders own 0.19% 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.