Mirabella Financial Services LLP Buys 11,386 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares during the quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 42,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 3,718 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 743,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,234,000 after buying an additional 5,662 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.5% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 309,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,125,000 after buying an additional 26,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 313.2% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 31,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,991,000 after acquiring an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Evercore downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $158.67 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade 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 at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

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.