Strs Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strs Ohio reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,511 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $63,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley helped lead Avalyn Pharma’s IPO (book‑runner role), a fee‑generating capital markets deal that signals continued ECM activity and underwriting pipeline. Avalyn Pharma IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Research strength is visible: Morgan Stanley’s analysts have issued high‑profile calls (e.g., double‑tier upgrades on media names and a dramatic Caterpillar target raise) that reinforce MS’s institutional franchise and brokerage/research credibility. Those activities support fees and trading flows. Paramount Skydance upgrade Caterpillar price‑target move
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a stronger buy, which is supportive for sentiment but often already reflected in short‑term flows; media/IB coverage (IBD write‑ups) also highlight MS’s deal pipeline. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE (part of Morgan Stanley) published its sector‑rotation study today — useful for understanding client flows and positioning but unlikely to move MS shares dramatically on its own. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges Morgan Stanley improperly enabled third‑party tracking of website users — a reputational and legal overhang that can create headline volatility and uncertainty around potential costs or regulatory scrutiny. That news is likely the largest immediate negative today. Lawsuit on data collection

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $190.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $117.21 and a 1 year high of $194.59. The firm has a market cap of $300.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.89.

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.