Rockland Trust Co. Purchases Shares of 70,548 Morgan Stanley $MS

Rockland Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 70,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,214,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 48,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,742,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. Finally, Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of 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 company has a market capitalization of $289.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Morgan Stanley Company 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.