3,657 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Argentarii LLC

Argentarii LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $163.20 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $171.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.86. The company has a market cap of $259.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68.

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 business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker MSBT) received an NYSE Arca listing notice — a step often right before launch. A live MS-branded spot-BTC ETF could create new fee income, broaden distribution of bitcoin exposure through MS channels, and intensify competition among ETF providers. Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Nears Launch on NYSE
• Positive Sentiment: Potential underwriting/lead roles in a high-profile IPO (SpaceX) are being discussed in markets; if MS wins senior bookrunner roles it would generate meaningful investment-banking fees and bolster deal pipeline expectations. SpaceX IPO timing and banks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and the firm’s research remain active: a MarketBeat/Erste note nudged FY2026 EPS estimates slightly higher for MS (small positive to consensus), while MS’s own research continues to drive coverage and client flows across sectors — supportive for franchise value but not an immediate share catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are positioned for Morgan Stanley’s upcoming Q1 2026 report and guidance commentary — previews and models are circulating and may drive intraday volatility around the print. Q1 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment has turned sour despite strong 2025 results; coverage stories note Reddit/social sentiment and retail positioning have shifted sharply bearish, which has pressured the stock even after record revenue and earnings beats. That crowd-sentiment shift is a likely proximate cause of the share weakness. Record Earnings Could Not Stop MS Shares From Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded MS from strong-buy to hold — analyst downgrades can prompt short-term selling and signal reduced conviction from parts of the sell-side peer group. Zacks Downgrade / Coverage Note

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

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.