Leelyn Smith LLC Invests $764,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Leelyn Smith LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,326,000 after acquiring an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,651 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $104,097,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MS opened at $189.21 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $107.97 and a 52-week high of $194.59. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.32. The stock has a market cap of $299.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major broker price-target raises: Bank of America boosted its MS target to $225 (Buy) citing management messaging and business momentum — an analyst-level endorsement that tends to support buying interest. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley to $225
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital also raised its price target to $220 and kept Outperform — another institutional signal likely to attract demand from research-driven funds. BMO Capital adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $220
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have surged recently and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT (its spot BTC ETF) has pulled meaningful inflows — positive for MS’s wealth/asset-management fee narrative and AUM growth potential. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add $996M as Flows Near Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and media coverage: recent write-ups and weekly performance commentary (MS up vs. peers) can draw ETF and momentum flows into MS stock. That technical interest can amplify analyst-driven moves. MS up 6.29% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing research activity: Morgan Stanley’s research franchise remains active (new coverage/targets across T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and others). That strengthens the firm’s advisory/research positioning but is a longer-term reputation signal rather than an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley Assumes Coverage of T‑Mobile
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst chatter about MS strategy and stock picks (e.g., memory/AI calls) highlights the firm’s market role but doesn’t directly change MS earnings—so mixed/neutral near term. 5 Morgan Stanley Stock Picks Leading 2026 Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: MS disclosed an Eric F. Grossman sale of 11,118 shares (~$2.1M) and other insider disposals were reported — aggregated insider sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if they’re for personal/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Eric Grossman
• Negative Sentiment: Additional SEC-filed insider sales reported in media (multi-million dollar disposals) amplify the negative read for some investors and can pressure the stock despite positive analyst notes. Morgan Stanley Insider Sells

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.