Dakota Wealth Management Buys 39,938 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 366.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,938 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage notes the stock is outperforming peers today, reflecting renewed investor interest in the firm. Morgan Stanley (MS) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on major financial names and list Morgan Stanley among favored ways to play an M&A upcycle — a key revenue tailwind for MS’s investment banking and advisory franchises. Morgan Stanley or Evercore: Which is a Smarter Bet Amid M&A Upcycle?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research highlighting a “reindustrialization renaissance” tied to AI-driven capex reinforces the firm’s positioning to benefit from higher corporate advisory and trading activity tied to the AI cycle. That thematic research can boost MS’s fees and trading flow. Morgan Stanley hails rare ‘reindustrialization renaissance’ of AI economy—but it’s better for computers than humans
• Positive Sentiment: Deal activity within Morgan Stanley’s private-equity arm signals continued fee generation and deal flow (MS Capital Partners completed an acquisition), a modest but visible positive for firm-wide fees. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Acquires Security 101
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated investor attention/search interest in MS is being reported — higher attention can increase volume and intraday moves but is not a fundamental change. Investors Heavily Search Morgan Stanley (MS): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Active analyst coverage at the firm (e.g., internal price‑target changes on other names) shows Morgan Stanley remains a major broker-dealer and research house — supportive for franchise credibility but indirect for MS stock. Morgan Stanley Slashes IONQ Price Target Ahead of Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering concerns that hit shares earlier this week — including commentary about AI risks to borrowers and elevated advisor recruitment/compensation costs — remain watch‑points; they can cap upside if costs or credit worries resurface. Why Morgan Stanley Stock Dropped on Monday Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $168.73 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $267.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.98 and a 200 day moving average of $166.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

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.