Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Buys 23,800 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 313.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management says IRA assets under management have topped $1 trillion — a milestone that signals stronger recurring fee income and deeper client relationships, which supports MS’s higher‑margin wealth business and valuation. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in IRA AUM
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for MS’s private infrastructure platform that can generate realized gains, free up capital, and demonstrate MS’s ability to monetize private assets for clients and funds. MSIP Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: Morgan Stanley’s prior quarterly report beat consensus on EPS and revenue growth (solid ROE and margins), reinforcing investor confidence in fee and trading businesses as rates and markets evolve. (Company Q4/Jan earnings context: MS reported an EPS beat and revenue growth in its most recent quarter.)
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research continues to move markets — the firm’s bullish analyst notes on names like Nvidia keep Morgan Stanley visible as a market‑moving research shop, which helps trading and capital markets flow generation but is an indirect driver of MS’s stock. Morgan Stanley Sounds the Bullish Drum on Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is sticking with a June Fed rate‑cut forecast — a macro call that frames expected trading/markets revenue and risk appetite but is subject to evolving oil and macro data; this helps set investor expectations rather than delivering an immediate balance‑sheet effect. MS Sticks With June Rate Cut Call
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research warns AI‑driven disruption in software could push private‑credit defaults higher — a sector‑level risk that could pressure banks and asset managers with private‑credit exposure and add volatility to credit markets (a potential headwind for parts of MS’s asset‑management and lending franchises). MS Warns Private‑Credit Defaults May Rise From AI Disruption

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.67 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $174.38 and its 200-day moving average is $168.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The company has a market capitalization of $251.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20.

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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.14.

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.