Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 93.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,391 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research 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 research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an amended S-1 for a spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker MSBT) with $1M seed capital and Coinbase custody — a move that would make MS one of the first major U.S. banks to sponsor a spot-Bitcoin ETF if approved. That could open a new fee stream, increase ETF AUM, and signal continued institutional crypto distribution capability. Morgan Stanley (MS) Pushes Forward With Bitcoin ETF Plans in Amended SEC Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth-management strength: Morgan Stanley’s IRA AUM topped $1 trillion, underscoring recurring fee revenue growth and deeper client relationships — supportive for forward revenue visibility and valuation multiple on fee businesses. MS Wealth Management IRA AUM Crosses $1T Mark
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley pushed back its Fed rate-cut call to September (and later easing to December), implying a higher‑for‑longer rate path — typically favorable for banks’ net interest income and some trading/franchise revenues while rates stay elevated. US Stock Market | Wall Street pushes Fed rate cut expectations to September amid oil shock
• Neutral Sentiment: Research/market flow note — Morgan Stanley flagged a 15%–20% downside risk for Asian stocks if energy disruption persists; this is a market-level risk call that could raise client trading activity but also increase volatility for MS’s capital markets business. Morgan Stanley flags 15-20% downside for Asia stocks amid oil surge
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley limited withdrawals from a private‑credit vehicle (North Haven Private Income Fund) amid rising redemptions — a liquidity strain that raises short‑term reputational and fee risks and highlights vulnerabilities in private-credit exposure (MS is also flagging higher default risks tied to AI disruption). That development helps explain caution in the stock today. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity As AI Risks Surface

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

MS stock opened at $158.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $251.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.