Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $182.52 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 971,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,407 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $182,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 220.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley formally advanced its spot Bitcoin ETF registration (ticker MSBT), disclosing $1M seed capital, planned NYSE Arca listing, custodial partners (Coinbase/BNY Mellon) and named authorized participants — a potential new product that could bring fee revenue, increase client asset flows and reinforce MS’s digital-asset positioning. Morgan Stanley advances MSBT Bitcoin ETF with amended SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research is publishing macro downside scenarios (e.g., elevated European gas risk and earlier ECB hikes) and revised rate‑cut timing — these calls can drive market volatility and trading flows that affect MS’s trading & principal revenues but are not direct corporate fundamentals. Europe gas refill risks rise; MS flags €90 TTF scenario
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley limited redemptions in a private‑credit vehicle and publicly flagged rising default/liquidity risk in parts of private credit — a near‑term negative for asset‑management fee stability, client confidence and potential reputational risk if outflows/credit losses broaden. Investors may be re‑pricing wealth & asset‑management exposure. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity As AI Risks Surface

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $161.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $256.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. 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 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.