Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Trimmed by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139,444 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.69 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.23. The company has a market capitalization of $255.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Morgan Stanley price target to $179 (keeps a neutral rating) — the price-target bump provides a near-term valuation lift and is being cited by traders as a catalyst. JPMorgan raises MS PT
• Positive Sentiment: Management is cutting roughly 2,500 jobs (about 3% of the workforce) as part of a restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and margins — investors often view targeted cuts as net-positive for near‑term profitability. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic collaborations and product initiatives (EquityZen buyout, Zerohash crypto tie‑up and others) are being highlighted by coverage as part of MS’s effort to broaden its wealth and digital offerings — supports long‑term growth narrative. Will Morgan Stanley’s Strategic Collaborations Drive Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley (the firm) raised its target on Nu Holdings (NU) and continues active analyst coverage — visible analyst engagement can support trading interest in MS shares through fee and advisory expectations. MS raises Nu PT
• Positive Sentiment: Datadog cited re-acceleration at a Morgan Stanley conference as AI and security demand pick up — MS’s conference franchise and underwriting/advisory pipeline benefit when tech companies show re-acceleration. Datadog at Morgan Stanley conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundups and analyst‑review pieces (e.g., “Demystifying Morgan Stanley”) are drawing attention but mostly repackage existing analyst views — useful for flows but not a clear directional catalyst. Demystifying Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research continues to move targets on other companies (e.g., Grainger), reflecting active bench strength in institutional research — a reputational positive but indirect for MS stock. MS updates Grainger forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from strong‑buy to hold — an analyst downgrade can trigger short-term selling or reduced conviction among momentum traders. Jefferies downgrades MS

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.