Argent Trust Co Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,943 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.9% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an application with the OCC to charter a new bank unit supporting crypto back‑office activity — a signal management is building regulated infrastructure (custody, settlement) that could open new fee pools if regulators approve and demand scales. Morgan Stanley’s OCC Application Is Wall Street Colonizing Crypto’s Back Office
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reporting says MS is exploring “full‑stack” digital‑asset services (bitcoin custody, trading, lending and yield) — moves that position the bank to monetize institutional crypto demand and diversify revenue beyond traditional trading/advisory. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending
• Positive Sentiment: MS appears among major institutions now advising modest Bitcoin allocations (1–5%) for portfolios — that endorsement (and MS research coverage) supports ongoing client demand and validates the bank’s strategy to offer crypto products. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Support Bitcoin Stakes
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley disclosed a roughly 4.25% voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/strategic holding that is newsworthy but not an immediate operating catalyst for MS core businesses. Morgan Stanley Discloses 4.25% Voting Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s direct‑lending arm reported Q4 results and declared a dividend — a reminder MS has sizable alternative‑assets exposure (private credit) that supports fee income but also ties the franchise to credit‑mark volatility. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Primary negative driver today is a sector‑wide risk‑off selloff hitting large banks; MS is moving with peers as investors rotate out of cyclical financials amid macro/A.I. recession‑narrative fears rather than fresh company news. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile insider and executive selling (documented filings discussed in market commentary) is amplifying caution; heavy insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if legally executed. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value 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 represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of MS stock opened at $166.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $263.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.06.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.