Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 8,980 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 301,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,980 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $53,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,926,000 after acquiring an additional 249,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MS stock opened at $190.84 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $111.24 and a 12-month high of $194.59. The company has a market capitalization of $301.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.46. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% 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, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049. Insiders own 0.17% 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 reported strong Q1 results and made notable capital moves (share buybacks, dividend, and debt issuance) that traders are calling a potential game?changer for the franchise; this underpins today’s buying interest. Morgan Stanley’s Strong Q1 Earnings And Capital Moves Could Be A Game Changer For Morgan Stanley (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Broker BMO lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley to $220 — a direct positive signal from the sell side that can support momentum. BMO Capital Markets Increases Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $220.00
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s newly launched spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) has seen institutional inflows (reported ~$138M placement), which helps AUM/fees and is cited as boosting Bitcoin — a flow story that benefits MS’s wealth & asset?management revenue. $138M Bitcoin Play Triggers Rally, Signals Shift In Big Money Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Research notes from MS highlighting AI-driven upside in gaming (estimated ~$22B profit opportunity) reinforce the bank’s research franchise and thematic insights that can drive trading and advisory activity. Gaming industry could unlock $22 billion in profits on AI-driven cost cuts, says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management pulse survey showed steady retail investor sentiment — supportive for recurring advisory flows but not an immediate earnings catalyst. Bullishness Remains Steady as Geopolitical and Energy Concerns Rise, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Pulse Survey Finds
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity: Eric Grossman sold ~11,118 MS shares (reported Apr 22). Insider sales are common but can trigger short-term caution among some investors. Eric Grossman Sells 11,118 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.33.

Morgan Stanley 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.