Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 153,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,754 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted 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 worth $2,267,847,000 after buying an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,926,000 after buying an additional 249,023 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $188.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $111.24 and a 1-year high of $194.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported solid Q1 results and has been active on capital (dividend, buybacks and funding moves) — fundamentals and capital returns support valuation. Morgan Stanley’s Strong Q1 Earnings And Capital Moves Could Be A Game Changer For Morgan Stanley (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage is constructive: BMO raised its MS price target (supportive to sentiment/price targets from the sell side). BMO Capital Markets Increases Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $220.00
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and research pieces highlight Morgan Stanley’s role as an influential analyst and wealth manager (e.g., research on gaming/AI and sustainable investing) — these shape longer-term thematic flows but aren’t an immediate price catalyst. Gaming industry could unlock $22 billion in profits on AI-driven cost cuts, says Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own macro take (downgrading near-term GDP outlook / warning on consumer dynamics) is being cited by media — that soft macro view can dampen investor appetite for bank cyclicality and reduce the “earnings multiple” investors are willing to pay. Morgan Stanley drops stunning take on GDP outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling was reported (executive sale disclosure), which can be interpreted negatively by some traders even if sales are routine. Combined with lower intraday volume vs. average, this can amplify moves down. Eric Grossman Sells 11,118 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) 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.