Leelyn Smith LLC Invests $764,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Leelyn Smith LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MS opened at $189.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $299.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $107.97 and a 12-month high of $194.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major broker price-target raises: Bank of America boosted its MS target to $225 (Buy) citing management messaging and business momentum — an analyst-level endorsement that tends to support buying interest. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley to $225
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital also raised its price target to $220 and kept Outperform — another institutional signal likely to attract demand from research-driven funds. BMO Capital adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to $220
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have surged recently and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT (its spot BTC ETF) has pulled meaningful inflows — positive for MS’s wealth/asset-management fee narrative and AUM growth potential. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add $996M as Flows Near Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and media coverage: recent write-ups and weekly performance commentary (MS up vs. peers) can draw ETF and momentum flows into MS stock. That technical interest can amplify analyst-driven moves. MS up 6.29% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing research activity: Morgan Stanley’s research franchise remains active (new coverage/targets across T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and others). That strengthens the firm’s advisory/research positioning but is a longer-term reputation signal rather than an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley Assumes Coverage of T‑Mobile
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst chatter about MS strategy and stock picks (e.g., memory/AI calls) highlights the firm’s market role but doesn’t directly change MS earnings—so mixed/neutral near term. 5 Morgan Stanley Stock Picks Leading 2026 Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: MS disclosed an Eric F. Grossman sale of 11,118 shares (~$2.1M) and other insider disposals were reported — aggregated insider sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if they’re for personal/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Eric Grossman
• Negative Sentiment: Additional SEC-filed insider sales reported in media (multi-million dollar disposals) amplify the negative read for some investors and can pressure the stock despite positive analyst notes. Morgan Stanley Insider Sells

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.