Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Lowered by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,074 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.23.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: MS reported $2.68 EPS (above consensus) with net income and operating profit up year‑over‑year, driven by wealth management and a rebound in investment banking. Morgan Stanley Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase / cash return: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, a signal of confidence and an income tailwind for yield‑sensitive holders. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price‑target lifts: Several firms (including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods) raised their targets/ratings after the print, which can underpin longer‑term upside. Analyst Price Target Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Morgan Stanley benefits from a hot IPO/dealmaking environment and wealth‑management flows — management flagged a strong pipeline for 2026 but that outlook is already being priced in. Pipeline Comment
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakness: The quarter showed a material swing to negative operating cash flow (cited ~-$3.3B), raising questions about short‑term cash dynamics despite large liquidity buffers. Cash Flow Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple senior executives have sold shares in recent months which can signal management cash‑outs and adds to near‑term selling pressure. Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue vs. expectations and “sell the news”: Revenue slightly missed some consensus figures; combined with investors taking profits after the post‑earnings pop, this explains downward pressure today. Revenue & Market Reaction

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $189.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $300.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 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 16.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.