JFS Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 3,085 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 501.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of MS stock opened at $173.76 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $179.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Balance-sheet strength supports capital returns — Morgan Stanley reported a large liquidity cushion (about $385.9B average at 2025 year-end), an 8% dividend increase and still roughly $17.4B available under its $20B buyback program, which underpins shareholder returns and investor confidence. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management activity — MSCP (the firm’s private equity arm) announced the acquisition of Security 101, signaling ongoing deal-flow and fee/carry generation from private markets that help diversify revenue. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Acquires Security 101
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain solid — Morgan Stanley’s most recent quarter beat consensus (Q4 EPS $2.68 vs. $2.28; revenue $17.9B vs. $17.69B) with double-digit revenue growth and healthy ROE, supporting the valuation multiple investors assign to a diversified bank/wealth franchise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market attention and relative performance — coverage notes MS has been outperforming the S&P and drawing heavy investor searches, which can amplify intraday flows but isn’t a fundamental change. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio/holdings changes — Morgan Stanley (or its units) has adjusted positions in external names (e.g., ceasing to be a substantial holder in certain stocks); this reflects normal asset-management activity and is not company-operating news. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in PLS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Cost pressure from advisor recruiting — reporting highlights that advisor-recruiting costs at Morgan Stanley have risen and could weigh on near-term profitability, a headwind to margins investors should monitor. Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.