32,768 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by First National Bank of Omaha

First National Bank of Omaha bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,209,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,407,000 after purchasing an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $855,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), signalling near‑term optimism from a well‑known independent screener and likely boosting buy‑side interest. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged a roughly $45B “hidden” cybersecurity opportunity — a high‑profile thematic call that showcases the firm’s research monetization and helps position MS as a go‑to advisor on secular tech spending trends. Morgan Stanley flags $45B hidden cybersecurity opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: MarketWatch highlighted Morgan Stanley strategy views (the “HALO” trade on hard assets), increasing the firm’s public profile and supporting investor perception of its macro/research franchise. That visibility can lift trading flows and fee outlooks. Why the ‘HALO’ trade boosting hard assets is no fluke, according to Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: MS continues to be active in analyst coverage (e.g., adjusting price targets and opinions on names like Twilio and Alibaba). That keeps the firm in headlines and generates transaction/commission activity, but those headlines are stock‑specific rather than direct drivers of MS fundamentals. Morgan Stanley Reduces PT on Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Stock Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Stay Positive on Alibaba (BABA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors also reference Morgan Stanley’s January results (beat on EPS and revenue growth) as a baseline for current sentiment — a supportive but already‑priced factor. (See company filings/earnings commentary for details.)
• Negative Sentiment: Critical coverage on parts of MS’s business (e.g., commentary urging patience on direct‑lending initiatives) could dampen enthusiasm for certain fee streams or credit exposures and introduce near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending – Be Patient

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $171.50 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $180.60 and its 200-day moving average is $165.70. The company has a market capitalization of $272.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

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.