Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 87,533 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,533 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.04% of Morgan Stanley worth $2,686,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 49.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 85,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,998,000 after acquiring an additional 28,051 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.2% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 114,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,824,000 after acquiring an additional 42,075 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.1% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 20,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $278,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $203.29 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $136.17 and a 12-month high of $232.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates increased. Erste Group Bank raised its Morgan Stanley EPS forecasts to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, up from $12.07 and $12.88, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating, while the current consensus is $12.68 for the year. This reinforces expectations for continued earnings momentum after Morgan Stanley’s recent quarterly beat. Morgan Stanley earnings estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto product expansion could create new fee revenue. Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the MSSE Ethereum Trust and MSOL Solana Trust, each with a 0.14% expense ratio and plans to pass staking rewards to investors. The products expand the firm’s digital-asset lineup beyond its Bitcoin fund and could strengthen its position in the growing crypto ETF market. Morgan Stanley Ether and Solana ETPs
• Positive Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains strong. Morgan Stanley advised on 15 construction-related M&A transactions valued at $81.3 billion during the first half of 2026. Separately, research cited strong second-quarter trading and investment-banking results across major banks, supporting the outlook for Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities business. Morgan Stanley construction M&A advisory
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent operating performance was strong but may already be reflected in valuation. Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter included EPS of $3.46 versus an expected $2.89 and revenue of $21.35 billion versus $19.67 billion, with revenue up 27.1% year over year. However, the stock’s elevated valuation and position above its long-term moving average may leave it sensitive to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Allegations involving mortgage approvals add reputational risk. Reports alleged that Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. Although the reports do not establish wrongdoing, investors may be concerned about potential compliance, legal or regulatory scrutiny. Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations

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.