Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 269,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92,827 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were 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 directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley remains constructive on several financial and growth names, including recent bullish calls on companies like Cloudflare and American Airlines, reinforcing the bank’s active role in shaping market expectations. Morgan Stanley Lifts PT on Cloudflare (NET)
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it is “wide awake” to acquisition opportunities, which can support optimism that Morgan Stanley could pursue strategic M&A if conditions improve. Morgan Stanley ‘wide awake’ to acquisition opportunities, CEO says
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to a Buy-equivalent ranking, citing improving earnings prospects. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Buy: Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley presented at the U.S. Financials Conference 2026, which keeps investor attention on the bank’s capital markets and wealth-management strategy rather than on a single earnings event. Morgan Stanley (MS) Presents at US Financials Conference 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market risk-off trading and fading rate-cut expectations are pressuring financials and other rate-sensitive names, which can weigh on Morgan Stanley even without a bad company headline.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $210.21 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $128.81 and a 1 year high of $219.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.89. The firm has a market cap of $331.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23.

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 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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.