Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Lessened by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Hamlin Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,513,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,704 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 5.5% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $240,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $154.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.39. The firm has a market cap of $245.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Selected as one of the Wall Street banks involved in a large Pentagon/defense financing initiative — a potential source of advisory fees and franchise work. Pentagon taps Morgan Stanley for defense initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research/public commentary on AI and macro trends keeps the firm visible to institutional clients and supports its wealth & investment?management franchise positioning. That can help offset short?term trading volatility. Morgan Stanley: AI Revolution Set to Disrupt Jobs and Energy Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm commentary on monetary policy (warning that rate cuts are unlikely soon) is driving market context rather than company-specific flows — it influences investor expectations for bank earnings broadly. Don’t Expect Interest Rate Cuts Anytime Soon, Says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/positioning adjustment that is informational but not material to core operating results. Morgan Stanley Trims Siemens Energy Voting Stake
• Negative Sentiment: The primary near?term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at its North Haven private?income/private?credit fund after investors requested ~10.9% in redemptions; the fund honored a 5% quarterly repurchase cap. That gating triggered investor concern about private?credit liquidity and valuation transparency and was the proximate cause of a multi?percent selloff in MS and other alternative?asset managers. Morgan Stanley restricts redemptions at private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Private?credit contagion and gating at other managers (Cliffwater, BlackRock coverage) amplified sector risk — investors rotated out of financials and alternative?asset exposure on worries about defaults, liquidity and mark?to?model valuations. Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater limit private credit withdrawals (FT)
• Negative Sentiment: Negative sentiment was reinforced on social channels and media coverage, which likely exacerbated intraday selling pressure and short?term volatility even though underlying wealth & advisory metrics remain more stable. Wall Street’s Own Stock Is Getting Hammered on Reddit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

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.