Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Position Lifted by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,692 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Equinix to $1,075 and reiterated an Overweight call — a visible example of bullish research that can generate trading and client interest in MS’s coverage. Morgan Stanley Lifts Equinix (EQIX) Price Target to $1,075
• Positive Sentiment: MS initiated coverage of GE Aerospace with an Overweight and a $425 target — coverage initiations often increase visibility and trading flow for both the bank and the stock. Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on GE Aerospace (GE)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Morgan Stanley reiterated Buy ratings on smaller software/infra names (e.g., JFrog), signaling ongoing conviction in parts of the tech coverage franchise that can support trading and advisory revenue. JFrog: Market Overreacts to Claude Code Security Launch…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Morgan Stanley analysts maintained Buy or Hold stances on mid‑cap names (LifeStance, Tronox, Newell), reflecting steady research activity but little immediate market‑moving change in stance. LifeStance: Improving Utilization… Tronox Hold Rationale Newell Hold Rationale
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research is being cited in broader thematic pieces (e.g., AI stock roundups), which supports the firm’s thought‑leadership but is unlikely to move MS shares materially by itself. 10 Unstoppable AI Stocks to Invest In Now
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory filing: Morgan Stanley and certain subsidiaries have ceased to be substantial holders in Pilbara Minerals — a public reduction in a stake can signal portfolio trimming and may be perceived as AUM/flow headwind. Morgan Stanley Drops Below Substantial Holder Threshold in Pilbara Minerals
• Negative Sentiment: MS research flagged execution risks and data‑center delays at CoreWeave ahead of earnings — negative analyst notes can depress client positions and trading in covered names and reflect caution in parts of the tech/infra book. CoreWeave Slides as Morgan Stanley Flags Execution Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional activity reports show MS reduced positions in some holdings (example: noted reductions in RKLB exposure), consistent with rebalancing that can temporarily reduce fee‑related assets. QuiverQuant RKLB institutional activity

Insider Buying and Selling 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $175.25 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $180.35 and a 200-day moving average of $166.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $278.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.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 firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 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.