Bokf Na Sells 4,065 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Bokf Na lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,065 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is hiring contract staff in Hong Kong to handle a surge in IPOs and listings — a sign of stronger investment‑banking deal flow in Asia that could boost fees if activity continues. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Street support: at least one major bank recently nudged Morgan Stanley’s modeled upside (price‑target lift noted in market reports), which can attract buyers and help underpin the stock in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic initiatives and partnerships (EquityZen buyout, crypto custody tie‑ups, conference presentations) are being highlighted by coverage as longer‑term growth levers for wealth and markets businesses; these are strategic positives but take time to show through in results. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley restricted redemptions at one of its private‑credit funds after investors sought to withdraw ~11% of the fund — a liquidity/flow strain that raises questions about mark‑to‑market, client confidence, and potential reputational or capital impacts for the direct‑lending franchise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Independent coverage and investor pieces are flagging risks in the direct‑lending / private‑credit business (discounts to NAV, yield dynamics), which could pressure valuations or fund distributions if outflows continue. Article Title

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value 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 represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. 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.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

MS stock opened at $160.88 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

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.