10,595 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSFree Report) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,684,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
  • Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
  • Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
  • Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
  • Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $284.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.93 and a 200-day moving average of $161.18. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MS

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 196,223 shares of company stock valued at $34,150,220 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSFree Report).