Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 148,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,886 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own analysis of broader markets remains constructive, with strategists saying equities still have upside support from AI-driven growth and employment trends, even as they flag recession and bond-market risks. That keeps the firm visible in the ongoing AI-led market narrative. Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Equities While Flagging Recession Risks Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also helped fuel bullish sentiment in semiconductors by raising its revenue estimate for Nvidia ahead of earnings and highlighting continued upside potential, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s influence in high-profile growth themes that investors are still rewarding. Morgan Stanley Lifts Nvidia Stock (NVDA) Price Target Ahead of Q1 Earnings, Sees ‘Continued Upside to Numbers’
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market headlines show Morgan Stanley-linked commentary spanning everything from AI infrastructure to energy and utilities, suggesting the bank is well positioned around major investor themes, though none of these articles directly change MS fundamentals today.
• Negative Sentiment: At the same time, the firm warned that a bond selloff could trigger a meaningful stock-market correction. That caution may temper enthusiasm and explains why any move higher in Morgan Stanley (MS) is modest rather than explosive. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Warns Stock Rally at Risk From Bond Rout

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $303.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.16. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $197.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given 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 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.