Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,181 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during 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. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 21,458 shares during the period. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $855,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $171.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s “HALO” trade thesis argues hard-assets and non-digital sectors should see sustained inflows this year — a view that supports trading and asset-management fee opportunities for the firm. Why the ‘HALO’ trade boosting hard assets is no fluke, according to Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: MS research flags a roughly $45B “hidden” cybersecurity investment opportunity — a large thematic runway that can drive underwriting, M&A advisory and asset-management mandates. Morgan Stanley flags $45B hidden cybersecurity opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Firm commentary that it is leaning into AI and tech IPOs signals a potentially strong deal pipeline (underwriting and advisory fees) even as valuations remain watchable — a constructive mix for investment-banking revenue. Morgan Stanley Leans On AI And Tech IPOs As Valuation Stays Watchable
• Positive Sentiment: Hiring blockchain engineers to integrate Ethereum, Polygon, Canton and Hyperledger shows MS investing in infrastructure to expand institutional crypto custody, trading and client services — potential new revenue streams. Morgan Stanley Hiring Blockchain Engineers to Integrate Ethereum, Polygon, Canton, and Hyperledger
• Neutral Sentiment: MS analyst activity (e.g., lowering a price target on Twilio) reflects normal research rotation and company-level calls that are unlikely to materially affect Morgan Stanley’s own stock. Morgan Stanley Reduces PT on Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research warnings — such as execution risk on the Santander–Webster deal or notes on AI disruption in Europe — reflect broader market analysis and reinforce MS’s role as a sell-side advisor but don’t directly change MS’s fundamentals. Santander (SAN) and Webster Deal Faces Execution Risk, Says Morgan Stanley

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.