Divergent Planning LLC Acquires New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Divergent Planning LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 4,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.2% of Divergent Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s stock is benefitting from positive market commentary that highlights the firm’s recent outperformance and investor interest. A MarketBeat/Zacks write-up notes MS outpaced a broader market upswing today, reflecting supportive momentum for the bank-stock cohort following solid fundamentals. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and favorable blue?chip rankings are supporting the tape — coverage summaries today flagged a Street upgrade/positive ranking for Morgan Stanley that can boost sentiment and attract momentum flows from funds that follow analyst action. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Income-focused investors are getting a reminder that MS remains attractive as a dividend paying bank — a Zacks piece outlines why Morgan Stanley’s dividend profile and payout stability make it appealing for yield-seeking investors, which can underpin demand from income funds. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research influence is visible in market moves elsewhere — the firm’s iPhone survey and other sector notes (e.g., on Apple) keep MS prominent in market headlines, which supports brand/flow effects but is not a direct driver of MS’s core earnings. Article
• Negative Sentiment: A headwind: Bloomberg/Yahoo report that Morgan Stanley (with Cliffwater) capped withdrawals from large private?credit funds after redemptions exceeded limits. That signals redemption pressure in alternatives the firm manages — a reputational and potential earnings risk if flows or valuations remain challenged — and it may cap upside until clarity on fund liquidity and investor confidence returns. Article

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $164.26 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 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.