Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,914 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Selected as one of the Wall Street banks involved in a large Pentagon/defense financing initiative — a potential source of advisory fees and franchise work. Pentagon taps Morgan Stanley for defense initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research/public commentary on AI and macro trends keeps the firm visible to institutional clients and supports its wealth & investment‑management franchise positioning. That can help offset short‑term trading volatility. Morgan Stanley: AI Revolution Set to Disrupt Jobs and Energy Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm commentary on monetary policy (warning that rate cuts are unlikely soon) is driving market context rather than company-specific flows — it influences investor expectations for bank earnings broadly. Don’t Expect Interest Rate Cuts Anytime Soon, Says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/positioning adjustment that is informational but not material to core operating results. Morgan Stanley Trims Siemens Energy Voting Stake
• Negative Sentiment: The primary near‑term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑income/private‑credit fund after investors requested ~10.9% in redemptions; the fund honored a 5% quarterly repurchase cap. That gating triggered investor concern about private‑credit liquidity and valuation transparency and was the proximate cause of a multi‑percent selloff in MS and other alternative‑asset managers. Morgan Stanley restricts redemptions at private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit contagion and gating at other managers (Cliffwater, BlackRock coverage) amplified sector risk — investors rotated out of financials and alternative‑asset exposure on worries about defaults, liquidity and mark‑to‑model valuations. Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater limit private credit withdrawals (FT)
• Negative Sentiment: Negative sentiment was reinforced on social channels and media coverage, which likely exacerbated intraday selling pressure and short‑term volatility even though underlying wealth & advisory metrics remain more stable. Wall Street’s Own Stock Is Getting Hammered on Reddit

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

MS opened at $154.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $176.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.26. The firm has a market cap of $245.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

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.