Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $664,000 Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $170,037,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $161.47 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.70. The company has a market capitalization of $256.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley formally advanced its spot Bitcoin ETF registration (ticker MSBT), disclosing $1M seed capital, planned NYSE Arca listing, custodial partners (Coinbase/BNY Mellon) and named authorized participants — a potential new product that could bring fee revenue, increase client asset flows and reinforce MS’s digital-asset positioning. Morgan Stanley advances MSBT Bitcoin ETF with amended SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research is publishing macro downside scenarios (e.g., elevated European gas risk and earlier ECB hikes) and revised rate?cut timing — these calls can drive market volatility and trading flows that affect MS’s trading & principal revenues but are not direct corporate fundamentals. Europe gas refill risks rise; MS flags €90 TTF scenario
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley limited redemptions in a private?credit vehicle and publicly flagged rising default/liquidity risk in parts of private credit — a near?term negative for asset?management fee stability, client confidence and potential reputational risk if outflows/credit losses broaden. Investors may be re?pricing wealth & asset?management exposure. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity As AI Risks Surface

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.