Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Sells 4,608 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,608 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.8% of Vertrix Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Vertrix Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.3% during the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $216.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.85. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $141.03 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley hired Adam Kweskin, a diversified-industries banker from Bank of America, to join its Global Industrials Investment Banking Group. The addition could strengthen the firm’s dealmaking capacity and support investment-banking fees if corporate activity remains robust. Morgan Stanley hires BofA’s Kweskin to cover diversified industries
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted improving capital-markets conditions and continued strength in Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management business, reinforcing the investment case for its more diversified revenue mix. Why Is Wealth Management Anchoring Morgan Stanley?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-led banks are reportedly preparing to distribute approximately $15 billion of debt associated with a Google-backed Anthropic data center. The transaction underscores Morgan Stanley’s opportunity to generate fees from the rapidly expanding artificial-intelligence infrastructure financing market. Morgan Stanley-led banks to offload debt tied to Anthropic data center
• Neutral Sentiment: Approval of a key element of Morgan Stanley’s proposed billion-dollar Dallas regional hub represents a long-term investment in its operating footprint, though the project is not expected to materially affect near-term earnings. Morgan Stanley’s possible downtown hub gets sign approval
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s second-quarter Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund update provides additional visibility into its private-credit platform, but the available report does not include enough detail to determine a meaningful impact on MS valuation. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Posts Q2 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley banker reportedly moved to Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, highlighting the ongoing risk of losing experienced dealmakers as global energy and investment activity intensifies. Another Morgan Stanley Banker Lands Top Investment Role at ADNOC

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

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.