Finemark National Bank & Trust Has $21.41 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Finemark National Bank & Trust decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,014 shares during the period. Finemark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 19.9% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.9% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Group LLC IL acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.7% during the third quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 154,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,519,000 after acquiring an additional 14,943 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an application with the OCC to charter a new bank unit supporting crypto back?office activity — a signal management is building regulated infrastructure (custody, settlement) that could open new fee pools if regulators approve and demand scales. Morgan Stanley’s OCC Application Is Wall Street Colonizing Crypto’s Back Office
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reporting says MS is exploring “full?stack” digital?asset services (bitcoin custody, trading, lending and yield) — moves that position the bank to monetize institutional crypto demand and diversify revenue beyond traditional trading/advisory. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending
• Positive Sentiment: MS appears among major institutions now advising modest Bitcoin allocations (1–5%) for portfolios — that endorsement (and MS research coverage) supports ongoing client demand and validates the bank’s strategy to offer crypto products. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Support Bitcoin Stakes
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley disclosed a roughly 4.25% voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/strategic holding that is newsworthy but not an immediate operating catalyst for MS core businesses. Morgan Stanley Discloses 4.25% Voting Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s direct?lending arm reported Q4 results and declared a dividend — a reminder MS has sizable alternative?assets exposure (private credit) that supports fee income but also ties the franchise to credit?mark volatility. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Primary negative driver today is a sector?wide risk?off selloff hitting large banks; MS is moving with peers as investors rotate out of cyclical financials amid macro/A.I. recession?narrative fears rather than fresh company news. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again
• Negative Sentiment: High?profile insider and executive selling (documented filings discussed in market commentary) is amplifying caution; heavy insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if legally executed. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $166.20 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $179.84 and its 200-day moving average is $167.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

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.