Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 10,424 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,424 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $165.90 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.93. The firm has a market cap of $263.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect strong Q1 results — Street forecasts point to double‑digit EPS growth heading into the bank’s upcoming Q1 report, which supports the firm’s earnings momentum and valuation backing. Morgan Stanley’s Q1 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues to expand in digital assets and tokenization — the firm is building crypto and tokenized equities capabilities (executive interviews and filings), which could open new fee and custody revenue streams over time. Considering Tokenizing Every Asset Class: Morgan Stanley’s Oldenburg
• Positive Sentiment: Research team bullish on Europe energy — Morgan Stanley analysts see more upside in European energy stocks as structural supply risks from the Middle East reprice markets; positive for MS’s trading and advisory flows tied to energy clients. Morgan Stanley Sees More Gains Ahead for Europe’s Energy Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flags a hawkish‑rates risk — a note pushing back on Fed cut expectations highlights macro caution; this shapes markets but is a mixed signal for MS (trading/IB benefit from volatility, but equity markets may pull back). Morgan Stanley issues stark warning on Fed rate outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Street coverage shifts and routine analyst activity — Morgan Stanley continues active coverage/price‑target work across the market (e.g., adjustments on third‑party names); these are normal sell‑side flows that can move individual stocks but are not company‑specific for MS. Zacks / analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit stress and fund redemption caps: reports show caps/limits on withdrawals at private‑credit funds and that Morgan Stanley capped redemptions on some products — this raises near‑term asset‑management and reputation risk and could pressure fee income and sentiment. Private credit’s ‘zero-loss fantasy’ is coming to an end MS caps withdrawals (coverage)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” a near‑term negative for perception and potential fund flows; analyst downgrades can amplify intraday selling even if fundamentals remain intact. Zacks downgrade

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.