Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 175,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,600 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 2.2% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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 Up 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.16. The company has a market cap of $303.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $197.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

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.