Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 207.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 12,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $6,285,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 783,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,404,000 after purchasing an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Finally, Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 41.1% during the second quarter. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. now owns 33,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,788,000 after purchasing an additional 9,894 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley formally advanced its spot Bitcoin ETF registration (ticker MSBT), disclosing $1M seed capital, planned NYSE Arca listing, custodial partners (Coinbase/BNY Mellon) and named authorized participants — a potential new product that could bring fee revenue, increase client asset flows and reinforce MS’s digital-asset positioning. Morgan Stanley advances MSBT Bitcoin ETF with amended SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research is publishing macro downside scenarios (e.g., elevated European gas risk and earlier ECB hikes) and revised rate‑cut timing — these calls can drive market volatility and trading flows that affect MS’s trading & principal revenues but are not direct corporate fundamentals. Europe gas refill risks rise; MS flags €90 TTF scenario
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley limited redemptions in a private‑credit vehicle and publicly flagged rising default/liquidity risk in parts of private credit — a near‑term negative for asset‑management fee stability, client confidence and potential reputational risk if outflows/credit losses broaden. Investors may be re‑pricing wealth & asset‑management exposure. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity As AI Risks Surface

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $161.47 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $256.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.