Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,018 shares during the quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after buying an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:MS opened at $157.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.49. The stock has a market cap of $250.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced it surpassed $1 trillion in IRA assets under management — a credibility and fee-growth milestone for the advisory business that supports recurring revenue and investor confidence. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in Individual Retirement Account Assets Under Management
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure arm agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for its private infrastructure platform that can improve reported results for MSIM and validate deal execution. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports are highlighting Morgan Stanley among attractive investment‑bank names as trading, underwriting and advisory momentum improve — supportive for valuation multiples across the group. 3 Investment Bank Stocks to Buy From a Flourishing Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s own macro views (e.g., sticking with a June rate‑cut call) help frame expectations for net interest income and market activity — this is a mixed but market-moving stance that traders will digest alongside Fed expectations. Morgan Stanley Sticks With June Rate Cut Call as Oil Surges
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists (notably Mike Wilson) have warned the market may not have bottomed — that bearish research can pressure cyclical financial names if investors rotate to defensives. Stocks haven’t hit bottom yet, says the analyst who called a ‘rolling recession’ when everyone else saw a boom
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged broader risks in private credit from AI-driven disruption — commentary that could raise concerns about MS’s exposure through credit and alternative‑asset businesses. Investors will watch for how the firm hedges or discloses that exposure. Morgan Stanley says AI disruption of software will send private credit defaults surging

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.