Moody National Bank Trust Division Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,424 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $165.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.93. The stock has a market cap of $263.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68. 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect strong Q1 results — Street forecasts point to double‑digit EPS growth heading into the bank’s upcoming Q1 report, which supports the firm’s earnings momentum and valuation backing. Morgan Stanley’s Q1 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues to expand in digital assets and tokenization — the firm is building crypto and tokenized equities capabilities (executive interviews and filings), which could open new fee and custody revenue streams over time. Considering Tokenizing Every Asset Class: Morgan Stanley’s Oldenburg
• Positive Sentiment: Research team bullish on Europe energy — Morgan Stanley analysts see more upside in European energy stocks as structural supply risks from the Middle East reprice markets; positive for MS’s trading and advisory flows tied to energy clients. Morgan Stanley Sees More Gains Ahead for Europe’s Energy Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flags a hawkish‑rates risk — a note pushing back on Fed cut expectations highlights macro caution; this shapes markets but is a mixed signal for MS (trading/IB benefit from volatility, but equity markets may pull back). Morgan Stanley issues stark warning on Fed rate outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Street coverage shifts and routine analyst activity — Morgan Stanley continues active coverage/price‑target work across the market (e.g., adjustments on third‑party names); these are normal sell‑side flows that can move individual stocks but are not company‑specific for MS. Zacks / analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit stress and fund redemption caps: reports show caps/limits on withdrawals at private‑credit funds and that Morgan Stanley capped redemptions on some products — this raises near‑term asset‑management and reputation risk and could pressure fee income and sentiment. Private credit’s ‘zero-loss fantasy’ is coming to an end MS caps withdrawals (coverage)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” a near‑term negative for perception and potential fund flows; analyst downgrades can amplify intraday selling even if fundamentals remain intact. Zacks downgrade

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.