Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,616 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. LeConte Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the third quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% 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 valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $182.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $289.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s Q4 results and the sectorwide rebound in trading and deal activity are supporting investor confidence — MS reported a Q4 earnings beat and revenue growth (quarterly EPS and revenue topped expectations), which underpins the stock’s gain today.
• Positive Sentiment: MS research/coverage is driving flows into niche sectors (notably bitcoin miners and some AI-related names); several miners and tech stocks rallied after Morgan Stanley initiated/upgraded coverage, which helps overall market sentiment for the firm as a research leader. Two Bitcoin Miners Rise On Morgan Stanley Coverage, AI Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Market writeups continue to list MS among the investment‑banking leaders benefiting from solid Q4 results and stronger trading/deal activity, which supports a constructive narrative but is already priced into large-cap bank multiples. 3 Must-Buy Investment Bank Behemoths After Solid Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing analyst activity from MS (revisions and coverage changes across names like Duolingo and Cardinal Health) highlights the firm’s influential research flow — supportive for MS’s fee and research positioning but not an immediate earnings driver for MS itself. Morgan Stanley Cuts Duolingo PT to $245
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore/other outlets trimmed their stance on Morgan Stanley (cut to Hold), creating some short‑term headwind and reminding investors there are near‑term execution/valuation concerns despite robust results. Morgan Stanley Cut to Hold at Evercore

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.