Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Decreased by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,898 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 2.1% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,407,000 after buying an additional 21,458 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.0% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 87,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,867,000 after buying an additional 9,345 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 30,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,905,000 after acquiring an additional 9,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,417,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $182.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research is getting attention — analysts reiterated bullish views on Nvidia and published notes saying the NVDA story is “getting stronger,” which reinforces MS’s high-profile research franchise and fee-generating advisory/flow business. ‘It’s Getting Stronger,’ Says Morgan Stanley About Nvidia Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported a strong quarter in mid-January (EPS and revenue beat), which supports its fundamentals and underpins the stock despite today’s weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: MS economists and strategists are active in the press — Michael Gapen and others are framing Fed/real?rate expectations and signaling the timing of future cuts could shift; this positions MS as a market voice but is informational rather than an immediate stock driver. Jerome Powell says economy has ‘clearly improved’…
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research has flagged sector-level shifts from interest-rate trends (spending moving toward goods vs. services); useful for clients and positioning but not an immediate binary for MS stock. Morgan Stanley Expects Interest Rate Trends to Shift Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Broad market / big-tech weakness is the biggest near-term drag: ETFs and large caps (MSFT, NVDA, AMZN, etc.) have suffered sizable moves today, which usually depresss trading revenue, wealth-management flows and investor sentiment for MS. VTI is down 1.4% today, on PLTR stock price movement
• Negative Sentiment: Bond?market “disconnects” noted by a Morgan Stanley exec and reported in the press are creating episodic volatility and liquidity frictions — a headwind for trading and fixed?income desks, which can pressure broker?dealer earnings and thus the stock. A Morgan Stanley exec says chaotic headlines are creating disconnects in the bond market

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,223 shares of company stock worth $17,716,220. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

About Morgan Stanley

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.