Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 5,195 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $79,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction 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 $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results & valuation check: recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings and a rebound in investment banking activity — the core drivers cited for the stock’s move as investors price in stronger fee revenue and improved outlook. Morgan Stanley valuation check
• Positive Sentiment: Index positioning: a note that Morgan Stanley is positioned among Russell 1000 ETF constituents supports expectations of incremental passive inflows if/when indices are rebalanced — a technical bid to shares. MS Positioned Among Russell 1000 ETF Constituents
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory momentum: Morgan Stanley topped power-sector M&A advisory in 2025 — evidence its advisory pipeline and fee generation are strong, reinforcing the investment-banking recovery narrative. That supports revenue diversification beyond markets. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows / stake moves: a small buy by Linscomb Wealth marginally increased MS holdings — a minor positive signal about demand from wealth managers but not material to stock direction. Linscomb Wealth purchases MS shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking pipeline evidence: Morgan Stanley appears among anchor/backer activity on deals (e.g., Fractal Analytics IPO anchor interest), underscoring continued capital-markets engagement — supportive over time but not an immediate share-mover. Fractal Analytics anchor investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI trimmed Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold” — a near-term headwind for sentiment that can cap upside until guidance/earnings prove durable. Evercore downgrade / Zacks note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector costs & policy risk: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased lobbying as policy fights heat up — a reminder of rising regulatory/policy risk and possible higher compliance costs that affect all large banks, including MS. Banks boost Washington lobbying

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $180.07 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.57 and a 200-day moving average of $164.14. The company has a market capitalization of $286.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 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 (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, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 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.