Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies says Morgan Stanley should benefit from a trading surge and steady dealmaking, raising expectations for a strong Q1 — a near‑term earnings catalyst. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seen riding trading boom as dealmaking holds firm, Jefferies says
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on MS (from $172 to $186), which supports a constructive view from a large Wall Street shop and may attract buyers. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $186
• Positive Sentiment: Billionaire Ken Griffin maintains a sizable stake in Morgan Stanley — a notable institutional endorsement that can support sentiment. Is Morgan Stanley (MS) The Best Financial Stock to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund set a Q1 2026 results call — investors in MS‑linked credit vehicles should monitor fund results for credit performance and fee generation. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Sets Q1 2026 Results Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research says AI‑driven labor disruption remains limited so far — a thematic view that may temper near‑term risk narratives around financials but is not an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley finds AI labor disruption remains limited in early stages
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore and BMO both cut Morgan Stanley’s price target (from $215 to $190), signaling reduced upside from some sell‑side desks and adding near‑term pressure on sentiment. Evercore adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $190 BMO Capital adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $190
• Negative Sentiment: Firm is launching a private‑credit vehicle while the sector faces liquidity stress — this could expand fee opportunities but also raises execution and liquidity risk that investors may discount. Morgan Stanley Plans Private Credit Fund Even as Investors Flee

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.87.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MS opened at $166.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $264.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.