Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Lowered by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 170,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,810 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.7% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the second quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 120.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $177.46 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.05 and a 200-day moving average of $166.91.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is building a full-stack digital-asset business (custody, trading, bitcoin lending and yield products). That expands fee opportunities outside traditional banking/wealth management and positions MS to capture growing institutional/wealth client demand for crypto services if compliance and execution go smoothly. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and coverage note MS’s strong liquidity cushion and explicit capital-return capacity: Zacks highlights ~$386B average liquidity, an 8% dividend bump and ~$17.4B remaining under the $20B buyback authorization — supportive for shareholder returns and a near-term tailwind for the share price. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) posted Q4 results and declared a dividend — a pick?up for yield?seeking investors and a reminder of fee/cash-generating businesses inside the MS ecosystem. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research is getting attention — a note that AI capex is driving strong EM earnings boosts the firm’s positioning as a thought leader, which can attract investment-banking and asset-management flows over time but is not an immediate earnings lever. AI capex fuelling strongest EM earnings in two decades, MS says
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes Morgan Stanley has recently outperformed the S&P 500 and that analysts are moderately constructive — positive for sentiment but not a catalyst on its own. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and regulatory risk on crypto/digital-asset expansion remain real — new product lines raise operational, compliance and reputational risks that could weigh on costs or invitations for regulatory scrutiny. Investors should weigh upside from new revenue streams against these risks. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.