Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 243,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,743 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. LexAurum Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $214,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 500,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the third quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 81,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.6% during the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Evercore cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $182.32 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Q4 results and the sectorwide rebound in trading and deal activity are supporting investor confidence — MS reported a Q4 earnings beat and revenue growth (quarterly EPS and revenue topped expectations), which underpins the stock’s gain today.
• Positive Sentiment: MS research/coverage is driving flows into niche sectors (notably bitcoin miners and some AI-related names); several miners and tech stocks rallied after Morgan Stanley initiated/upgraded coverage, which helps overall market sentiment for the firm as a research leader. Two Bitcoin Miners Rise On Morgan Stanley Coverage, AI Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Market writeups continue to list MS among the investment‑banking leaders benefiting from solid Q4 results and stronger trading/deal activity, which supports a constructive narrative but is already priced into large-cap bank multiples. 3 Must-Buy Investment Bank Behemoths After Solid Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing analyst activity from MS (revisions and coverage changes across names like Duolingo and Cardinal Health) highlights the firm’s influential research flow — supportive for MS’s fee and research positioning but not an immediate earnings driver for MS itself. Morgan Stanley Cuts Duolingo PT to $245
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore/other outlets trimmed their stance on Morgan Stanley (cut to Hold), creating some short‑term headwind and reminding investors there are near‑term execution/valuation concerns despite robust results. Morgan Stanley Cut to Hold at Evercore

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.