Rhumbline Advisers Has $356 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,239,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,232 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.14% of Morgan Stanley worth $355,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the third 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 raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the third quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley rehired veteran dealmaker Michael Grimes to lead investment banking, a move that should strengthen the firm’s front‑office capacity for M&A and capital markets execution — a direct positive for future fee income and deal flow. Morgan Stanley rehires Grimes to lead investment banking – report
• Positive Sentiment: MS analysts/public research argue the A.I. rally can continue this year — a bullish macro/sector view that supports trading and investment banking activity tied to technology names, which can lift trading volumes and advisory mandates. Morgan Stanley Says A.I. Rally Can Continue This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s presentation at the UBS Financial Services Conference (transcript) provides management commentary and strategy detail — worth reading for updates on the wealth pivot, capital return, and trading outlook but not a market mover by itself. Morgan Stanley (MS) Presents at UBS Financial Services Conference 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research also warned that an AI‑led software selloff could pose risks to a large segment of the U.S. credit market — a caution that can amplify market volatility and depress banks’ trading and credit-related revenue if risk‑off sentiment spreads. That macro risk likely offsets some of the positive firm‑specific news. AI‑led software selloff may pose risk for $1.5 trillion U.S. credit market, says Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pieces (e.g., Zacks) continue to debate whether MS’s shift toward wealth management justifies the current multiple given rising expenses — a valuation/earnings‑quality concern that can pressure the stock despite strong fee and trading results. Is Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Pivot Enough to Make the Stock a Buy?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $177.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a market capitalization of $282.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $181.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.66.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.