Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Cut by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,596 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong capital returns and balance-sheet cushion support the rally — coverage notes Morgan Stanley ended 2025 with a large liquidity cushion and a $20B buyback plan (about $17.4B still available) alongside an 8% dividend increase, which investors view as shareholder-friendly and supportive of the stock. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley asset-management product update — Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) reported Q4 results and declared a dividend, underscoring fee-income/alternative-asset momentum inside MS’s wealth & asset-management franchises. That supports the idea of more stable fee streams. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals: MS beat Q4/Jan-quarter EPS and revenue expectations (January 15 release) and consensus still models mid‑single-digit earnings growth for the year — that underlying operating beat remains a tailwind for sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-performance commentary and analyst attention — coverage noting MS has outperformed the S&P recently can attract momentum flows but also raises expectations for continued delivery. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory / institutional moves — filings show Morgan Stanley altering some substantial‑holder positions in third parties, a normal part of portfolio/institutional activity; watch for any larger balance-sheet or trading-book disclosures. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in PLS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Advisor‑recruiting and wealth‑channel costs are a material headwind — Barron’s highlights rising recruiting costs for advisors at Morgan Stanley, which can pressure margins in the Wealth Management segment and temper near‑term earnings leverage. That is likely constraining part of the valuation multiple today. Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $177.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.91. The firm has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business 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 company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.