Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,411 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.7%

MS stock opened at $182.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.48. The company has a market capitalization of $289.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s public profile remains strong — Jim Cramer praised MS’s CEO and recent commentary highlights the firm’s momentum and leadership, which supports confidence in management and long-term strategy. Morgan Stanley (MS)’s CEO is Doing a Great Job, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: MS is active in principal/private investments — the firm backed Tenaya Therapeutics, a move that highlights deal flow and potential upside from private / VC-style investments on the firm’s balance sheet. That can boost future revenue diversity. Morgan Stanley Backs Tenaya Therapeutics (TNYA) as SMID-Cap Biotech Primed to Outperform in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s real‑asset investing arm bought a $110M Bay Area factory — expands its industrial/real‑asset portfolio but is not an immediate earnings driver for the bank’s core wealth & capital markets businesses. Morgan Stanley Snaps Up $110 Million Bay Area Factory
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity and coverage moves from Morgan Stanley (upgrades, initiations across tech, biotech and space names) underline the firm’s research footprint — supportive for IB and trading franchise over time but not an immediate capital markets catalyst. Morgan Stanley’s Top European Software and Services Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Research tone turned cautious on parts of tech: Morgan Stanley flagged slowing demand in U.S. IT hardware, a move that contributed to selling in hardware names — this raises investor concern that institutional client spending and trading/underwriting activity could soften, which would pressure MS revenue. US IT hardware stocks tumble as Morgan Stanley flags slowing demand
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness and ETF drag (QQQ down amid major tech declines) is reducing trading and market‑sensitive revenue across banks; MS is sensitive to market volatility and flows, so sector weakness can depress the stock even if fundamentals remain solid. QQQ is down 1.3% today, on SHOP stock price movement

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.