Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 115.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,214 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.9% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: January quarter outperformance still supports the stock: Morgan Stanley reported an EPS beat and revenue growth (quarterly EPS $2.68 vs. $2.28 est.; revenue $17.90B). That strong print and solid ROE/margins remain a near-term underpinning for the share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Pro-research narrative on AI — Morgan Stanley research calling AI a macro force reinforces the firm’s thought-leadership and could help win institutional and wealth-management mandates tied to thematic investing and advisory. Morgan Stanley Warns AI Is Now a Macro Force
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues visible equity research and coverage activity (e.g., notes on Match Group and analyst price-target moves on other names). This keeps the firm front-and-center with institutional clients but is not an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley ‘most constructive’ on Match Group shares in years
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts continue to adjust ratings/price targets on coverage names (example: PT changes for Wyndham and Dell). Analyst activity signals engagement with clients but has mixed impact on MS’s trading operations. Morgan Stanley Cuts PT on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
• Negative Sentiment: Liquidity/reputational risk from private-credit gating: Morgan Stanley (alongside BlackRock) limited withdrawals from a private-credit fund after heavy redemptions (nearly 11% sought from the North Haven Private Income Fund). Markets view gating as stabilizing for illiquid strategies but it raises regulatory, client-retention and franchise-risk questions that can pressure the stock. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley And BlackRock Limit Withdrawals—Is Private Credit Gating A Crisis Or Market ‘Stabilizer’?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is participating in virtual analyst/IR events (e.g., group meetings such as KEI Industries’ virtual analyst meet), reflecting ongoing investment-banking and research client activity — supportive for fee pipelines but not an immediate stock catalyst. KEI Industries Schedules Virtual Analyst Meet with Morgan Stanley

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $154.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $245.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.