Mariner LLC Acquires 53,490 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 844,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,490 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $134,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $155.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $247.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has publicly downplayed broader contagion from private‑credit stress — analysts and spokespeople signaled the gating actions are functioning as a market stabilizer rather than systemic failure, which removes some immediate tail‑risk perception for the bank. Morgan Stanley Not Worried About Equitable Holdings (EQH) Exposure To Private Credit
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental backdrop remains supportive: Morgan Stanley reported a January quarter EPS and revenue beat and solid return on equity, which underpins investor confidence amid episodic market stress.
• Neutral Sentiment: Research flow from Morgan Stanley is active across sectors — e.g., its research note on memory stocks says the group is “cooling off,” but names like SanDisk and Micron keep rallying. That commentary drives trading desks and client flows but is not directly material to MS’s core franchise. Morgan Stanley Says Memory Stocks ‘Cooling Off’—SanDisk, Micron Keep Defying Gravity
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst team moves remain a regular market driver — recent Morgan Stanley notes changed targets on names like Accenture and HPE and included tactical calls on NVDA, signaling active coverage that can shift short‑term flows. Morgan Stanley Updates Accenture (ACN) View on Weak Bookings and Talent Shift
• Negative Sentiment: Headline risk from private‑credit “gating”: Morgan Stanley (and BlackRock) moved to limit withdrawals from certain private‑credit vehicles after large redemption requests. That action raises near‑term liquidity and reputational concerns and is the primary negative catalyst investors are monitoring. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley And BlackRock Limit Withdrawals—Is Private Credit Gating A Crisis Or Market ‘Stabilizer’?

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.