Northbridge Financial Group LLC Invests $572,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Northbridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in 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 worth $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MS opened at $189.58 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $123.88 and a 12 month high of $197.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $176.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.35. The firm has a market cap of $299.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $200 and reiterated an Outperform view, reinforcing bullish sentiment from analysts. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists said the stock market can still benefit from AI-driven growth, but they also warned that a bond-market selloff could pressure risk assets and trigger a broader pullback. Financial Post
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley note said the Fed may stay on hold before cutting rates again in 2027, which reflects a measured macro view rather than a direct company-specific catalyst. TheStreet

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.