Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 312,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,296 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 2.5% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and strong fees: MS posted $2.68 EPS (above estimates) and reported revenue of ~$17.9B with investment‑banking revenue rising ~47% year‑over‑year — a clear driver behind the rally. Morgan Stanley Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sector/peer momentum: Strong results at peers (Goldman, others) and a broader market lift from chip/tech earnings helped financial ETFs and bank stocks, amplifying Morgan Stanley’s move. Stocks Finish Higher As Chip, Bank Stocks Drive Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward pipeline: Management and street coverage point to a bigger 2026 IPO/deal pipeline and ongoing wealth‑management growth (AUM ~ $9.3T), suggesting revenues could stay elevated if markets and deal activity persist. Morgan Stanley Sees 2026 IPO Wave, CFO Flags Bigger Pipeline, Broader Dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: many firms reaffirm buy/overweight stances or raise targets on banks, but some note that strong fundamentals may already be priced in — raising the risk of “sell the news” moves after the beat. Morgan Stanley Q4 Review: Strong Fundamentals Priced In (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Cash‑flow and insider selling flagged: while EPS beat, Quiver/filings flagged a material swing to negative operating cash flow (roughly -$3.3B) and notable insider sales over recent months — items that could concern value/longer‑term investors. Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 5.7%

MS opened at $191.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.32. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

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.