Linscomb Wealth Inc. Purchases 2,966 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,966 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,659,000 after buying an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $179.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $285.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The company 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%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Q4 strength and commentary on a rebound in investment banking have prompted analysts to re‑rate the stock and revisit valuation, supporting longer‑term upside. Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation Check After Strong Q4 2025 Results And Rebound In Investment Banking
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target on Morgan Stanley after the strong fourth‑quarter results, a sign some firms see room for multiple expansion or earnings traction. RBC boosts Morgan Stanley (MS) price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm initiatives and investor outreach continue — Morgan Stanley hosted its Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures Demo Day, highlighting business development and franchise initiatives (positive for PR / long‑term pipeline but unlikely to move near‑term trading materially). Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures Hosts Global Demo Day
• Neutral Sentiment: Market rotation and sector flows reported by E*TRADE/Morgan Stanley clients (sector rotation study) may be rebalancing asset managers’ bank exposures — a technical factor affecting intraday moves. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and trade commentary have drawn attention — media pieces covering insider sales / trading views can weigh on sentiment even when fundamentals are solid. That dynamic has likely contributed to downward pressure. Morgan Stanley Insider Sale And Trade Views Shape Risk And Value Narrative

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

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.