Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 44.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 269,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,964,000 after acquiring an additional 9,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $180.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results & valuation check: recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings and a rebound in investment banking activity — the core drivers cited for the stock’s move as investors price in stronger fee revenue and improved outlook. Morgan Stanley valuation check
• Positive Sentiment: Index positioning: a note that Morgan Stanley is positioned among Russell 1000 ETF constituents supports expectations of incremental passive inflows if/when indices are rebalanced — a technical bid to shares. MS Positioned Among Russell 1000 ETF Constituents
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory momentum: Morgan Stanley topped power-sector M&A advisory in 2025 — evidence its advisory pipeline and fee generation are strong, reinforcing the investment-banking recovery narrative. That supports revenue diversification beyond markets. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows / stake moves: a small buy by Linscomb Wealth marginally increased MS holdings — a minor positive signal about demand from wealth managers but not material to stock direction. Linscomb Wealth purchases MS shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking pipeline evidence: Morgan Stanley appears among anchor/backer activity on deals (e.g., Fractal Analytics IPO anchor interest), underscoring continued capital-markets engagement — supportive over time but not an immediate share-mover. Fractal Analytics anchor investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI trimmed Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold” — a near-term headwind for sentiment that can cap upside until guidance/earnings prove durable. Evercore downgrade / Zacks note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector costs & policy risk: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased lobbying as policy fights heat up — a reminder of rising regulatory/policy risk and possible higher compliance costs that affect all large banks, including MS. Banks boost Washington lobbying

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

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.