Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Lowered by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Posted by Mark Dietrich on Jul 12th, 2026

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,992 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,617,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,448,374. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $350.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.26.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Dbs Bank upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.20.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MS

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced it entered exclusivity to acquire a majority stake in Nicollin Environnement, a French environmental services company. The move highlights MS’s private-markets and infrastructure investing capabilities beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Nicollin Environnement
Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continued to frame Morgan Stanley as a beneficiary of strong banking results heading into Q2 earnings season, with bank earnings generally expected to be solid and supporting sentiment for large financial stocks like MS. Bank Earnings Look Strong Ahead of Q2: ETFs in Focus
Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary said Morgan Stanley warned that the AI chip rally may be losing momentum, but this is more a macro/sector view than a direct catalyst for MS shares. Morgan Stanley warns AI chip rally may be running out of steam

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Profile

(Free Report)

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.