First Trust Advisors LP Sells 307,371 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 533,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 307,371 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $84,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after buying an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 6,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Trustmark Bank Trust Department increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 12,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 248,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,485,000 after acquiring an additional 13,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.4% in the third quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd now owns 16,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $160.70 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The stock has a market cap of $255.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market team (Michael Wilson) said the S&P 500 may be “closer to the end” of the recent rolling correction — a call that can lift investor sentiment and boost trading/wealth-management flows that benefit MS. S&P 500: Morgan Stanley says ’we’re closer to the end of this rolling correction’
• Positive Sentiment: The firm announced a restructuring that trims about 2,500 jobs (~3% of workforce) aimed at improving cost efficiency and margins — investors often view targeted cuts as margin-accretion moves that support EPS over time. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency And Long Term Growth Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research continues to move the tape: the bank raised coverage/targets on names such as Travelers (TRV) and upgraded other stocks, which reinforces MS’s role as a market-moving sell-side franchise that supports fee revenue. Morgan Stanley Raises The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) Target on Underwriting Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity is mixed (upgrades and downgrades across sectors — e.g., Novo Nordisk upgrade, IBM PT cut). That keeps MS prominent on headlines but produces mixed signals for trading flow and reputation effects. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) to Equal Weight From Underweight – Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research and wealth teams flag political and geopolitical risks (a published list of seven risks) that could keep volatility elevated — higher volatility can hurt markets and reduce deal activity and asset-gathering. That is a headwind for banks and wealth managers like MS. Morgan Stanley identifies 7 political risks hitting investors

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.