Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 202.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 125,641 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is benefiting from continued investor interest in its investment-banking franchise, especially after reports that OpenAI is preparing for a potential IPO with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as key bankers. That keeps MS in focus as a likely winner from high-profile capital-markets activity.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also remains associated with constructive analyst commentary across several holdings and sectors, including recent notes on AI dealmaking, NextEra Energy, and other names, reinforcing the view that Morgan Stanley is well positioned in active markets and advisory work.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced the winners of its 2026 Strategy Challenge, highlighting its pro bono nonprofit work in the U.S. and U.K. This is positive for reputation, but it is unlikely to be a major stock driver on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another headline said Morgan Stanley asked Hong Kong bankers to carry separate phones on China trips, reflecting tighter data-security controls. That is more of an operational/compliance item than a direct earnings catalyst. Article Title

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

MS opened at $200.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $316.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $123.88 and a 52 week high of $200.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.83.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

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.