AMG National Trust Bank Increases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after buying an additional 36,963 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 965,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,866,000 after acquiring an additional 67,613 shares in the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,260,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65,246 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage are highlighting Morgan Stanley’s upcoming earnings as a potential catalyst, with expectations for strong trading and investment banking results. Morgan Stanley Stock Climbs: What's Happening Today?
• Positive Sentiment: Peers JPMorgan and Bank of America have already reported strong results, improving sentiment for the large-bank group heading into Morgan Stanley’s earnings. BANK OF AMERICA ($BAC) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary suggests U.S. banks could post broad earnings beats thanks to resilient capital markets activity and stronger wealth-management flows. US bank earnings could surprise to the upside as Bank of America highlights strong operating backdrop
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own analysts have also been active across other names, including raising price targets on Apple and Alnylam, reinforcing its influence in current market sentiment. Morgan Stanley Is Bullish on Apple Stock (AAPL), Expects Price Hikes to Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary also notes Morgan Stanley itself may be trading at a stretched valuation ahead of earnings, which could limit upside if results disappoint. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America: Three Major Banks, Three Different Verdicts

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. CICC Research upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.20.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $228.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $359.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.98 and its 200 day moving average is $187.94. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $135.26 and a twelve month high of $232.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.