Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $11.11 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,167 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed for spot Ethereum ETFs and has been active with in‑house spot Bitcoin and Solana trust filings — signaling a broadening of its crypto product shelf and potential to capture institutional distribution and fee flows. Morgan Stanley Files for Spot Ethereum ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: MS announced plans to launch a digital wallet in H2 2026 to support tokenized assets — an infrastructure move that complements its ETF filings and may expand custody, trading and advisory revenue opportunities. Morgan Stanley Announces Digital Wallet Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Firm promotions: Morgan Stanley elevated 184 employees to managing director amid a dealmaking revival — this suggests ramped investment banking coverage capacity and potential for higher advisory and M&A fees. Morgan Stanley Appoints 184 New Managing Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst momentum: several outlets and research notes have turned more constructive (Zacks upgrade / other bullish commentary) ahead of MS’s upcoming earnings, supporting sentiment that the firm can beat expectations on wealth management and trading. Morgan Stanley Upgraded to Strong Buy (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged macro/FX risk around U.S. intervention in Venezuela as a test for the dollar — a market theme that could lift trading volatility (good for trading revenue) but also heighten geopolitical risk. U.S. Intervention in Venezuela a ‘Test for the U.S. Dollar,’ Says Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analyst action is universally bullish — a recent note raised MS’s target modestly but kept a neutral rating (Benzinga summary), implying some strategists see limited near‑term upside from current levels. That creates mixed signals for investors weighing valuation vs. growth. Analyst note: price target change / neutral rating (Benzinga)

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $186.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $188.82.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

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.