TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Has $48.56 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 273,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,386 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $48,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 448,960 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in 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 buying an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 354,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,443,926,000 after buying an additional 249,023 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 195,549 shares of company stock valued at $36,260,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $188.95 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.85. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $104.78 and a 12 month high of $194.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.67.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: revenue and EPS surprised on the upside, driven by strong trading and investment‑banking performance and continued wealth‑management flows — the core earnings beat is the primary driver of investor optimism. MS Q1 Deep Dive: Wealth and Investment Banking Deliver
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT (Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF) has drawn >$100M in its first week — a fast start that supports asset‑gathering momentum and fee diversification at the firm. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Tops $100 Million in Six Days
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is increasing MS valuation assumptions: several firms raised price targets and upgraded outlooks after Q1 (Bank of America, Evercore, Argus, Keefe Bruyette & Woods among them), which supports further upside narratives. Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and capital return: Morgan Stanley announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30), signaling confidence in cash generation and returning capital to shareholders (income‑supporting but not an earnings catalyst).
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing investment banking / underwriting activity (including large debt syndications) highlights the firm’s franchise utility in markets — positive for fee pipelines but cyclically sensitive to capital‑markets activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational overhang: Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Fed records tied to a Fed nominee’s past actions that reference Morgan Stanley; while not an immediate earnings issue, it increases political/regulatory headline risk. Elizabeth Warren Challenges Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts still express caution: a few firms kept conservative ratings or raised PTs while maintaining neutral/hold views (e.g., HSBC/Rothschild adjustments), which can cap near‑term upside and prompt mixed trading. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley

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.