Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $1.56 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $164.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a market cap of $260.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 firm 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 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Retail IPO win for E*Trade — reports say Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade is in talks to lead retail distribution for the SpaceX IPO. If finalized this would bring meaningful underwriting/distribution fees and retail trading activity to MS’s wealth platform. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Growing alternatives push — coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s moves (EquityZen deal, bigger private credit effort) to expand alternatives AUM. That strategy supports higher-fee, stickier revenue and improves MS’s long‑term wealth/asset-management growth profile. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF plan referenced — market commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s announcement of a soon-to-launch spot BTC ETF as a catalyst for renewed institutional flows into crypto ETFs. Launching/operating crypto ETFs can create new fee pools and boost trading/investment banking positioning. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Research credibility / trading flow signal — Morgan Stanley has publicly elevated Meta to a top pick and published bullish sector/stock calls (cybersecurity picks, upgrades). Strong, visible research calls can drive client trading and institutional flows that help trading revenue and advisory mandates. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price‑target updates on other names — Morgan Stanley research trimmed targets on select coverage (e.g., Futu) and raised/trimmed targets on other names. These are normal research flows that reinforce MS’s role as a major Wall Street shop but have only indirect impact on MS’s own earnings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm-level product/coverage notes (Unity PT lift, FactSet ratings) — ongoing analyst updates (PT increases, hold ratings) signal active research engagement; useful for franchise perception but limited immediate P&L impact for MS itself. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Strategists urge defensive positioning — Morgan Stanley strategists publicly advised increasing cash and Treasuries amid geopolitical risk. That caution can reduce client risk-taking and equity trading volumes in the short term, which may weigh on trading revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational / compliance sensitivity — FT reported a Morgan Stanley wealth advisor approached BlackRock on behalf of a government official before a geopolitical event, a story that can create short‑term reputational scrutiny in wealth management. Investors may watch for any follow‑up disclosures. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.