Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 569.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 252,435 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 2,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 29,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,225,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $179.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $180.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.46. The firm has a market cap of $285.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.47 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 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

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.