Fiduciary Alliance LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,806 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.1% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $178.29 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.63. The firm has a market cap of $281.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $102.89 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. 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%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), the first spot Bitcoin ETP issued by a major U.S. bank, giving the firm a new fee‑earning product and a distribution advantage via ~16,000 financial advisors. This broadens MS’s wealth-management monetization and strategic product set. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT had a solid debut with roughly $30–34M of first‑day inflows/trading volume and is priced competitively (0.14% fee), helping MS capture market share in the fast‑growing crypto ETF category and supporting revenue growth for its asset-management platform. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley and other brokers (Goldman previously raised a target) have nudged sentiment; some firms also raised EPS/earnings estimates, which helps the investment case around MS’s wealth management and trading franchises. Upgrades/positive notes add to demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: coverage notes and earnings‑growth previews (and consensus EPS upgrades from some shops) highlight that MS’s fee‑based wealth business and trading could sustain earnings momentum into upcoming reports. These are background positives but not immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Research & sector actions: Morgan Stanley research continues to move coverage on other financial and insurance names (P&C targets, etc.), which highlights active research flows but is tangential to MS’s stock performance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto ETF flows remain mixed: despite MSBT’s debut inflows, the broader U.S. spot‑Bitcoin ETF family recorded net outflows recently — a reminder that demand can be uneven and that MSBT still needs sustained inflows to meaningfully add fee revenue. That creates short‑term execution risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some sell‑side firms trimmed price targets (e.g., Daiwa lowered MS’s target recently), which can cap upside for traders focused on near‑term valuations and may explain profit‑taking by some holders. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. HSBC decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.