Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,009,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,595 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.3% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $356,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th 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. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in 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 worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Dbs Bank raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.35.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.19 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $128.81 and a fifty-two week high of $219.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.