Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Invests $909,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 11,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 8,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 6,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $160.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.20 and a 200-day moving average of $167.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an updated S‑1 / SEC amendment advancing its planned spot Bitcoin ETF (naming Coinbase custody and BNY Mellon roles). That materially increases the firm’s potential fee pool (trading, custody, securities lending) if approved — a strategic growth lever beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Files Updated SEC Amendment for Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley provided financing (initial $500M, expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific for data center/AI infrastructure, demonstrating growth in corporate lending and structured finance opportunities tied to AI/crypto infrastructure. That can add fee and interest income if credit performance holds. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Public commentary from Morgan Stanley events (tech/AI conferences) keeps the firm visible as an advisor/market‑maker in tech and AI financing; useful for long‑term franchise positioning but not an immediate earnings surprise. Morgan Stanley’s top tech banker: It’s ‘wartime, not peacetime’ for software
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 roles (~3% of workforce) across divisions. Markets often react negatively to broad layoffs because they signal restructuring risk, potential disruption to revenue growth and near‑term execution uncertainty even if they imply future cost savings. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Investor flow appears to favor trimming MS exposure amid the headlines; analysts and market commentators are re‑assessing near‑term margins and execution risk despite record revenues in 2025 — producing downward pressure on the share price today. Morgan Stanley Cuts 3% Workforce Despite Record Revenues in 2025

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Evercore downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently 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.