Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 50.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,553 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $165.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.
Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is pursuing an OCC national trust bank charter to custody crypto — a strategic push that could expand its wealth/trust services and open new fee streams from institutional crypto custody. This is a medium-term positive for MS’s product offering and fee revenue. MS Seeks National Trust Bank Charter: What it Means & Why it Matters
- Positive Sentiment: MS strategists reiterated a bullish U.S. equity stance despite Middle East tensions — they say markets can absorb geopolitical shocks unless oil spikes and stays elevated. That stance supports MS’s trading and wealth-management outlook if risk appetite normalizes. Morgan Stanley Maintains Bullish US Stock Outlook Despite Iran Conflict
- Positive Sentiment: Research momentum: MS research is prominent in the headlines — the firm named Citigroup a top pick and has been reshuffling semiconductor coverage (re-anchoring NVDA as a top chip pick). Visible, actionable research can support MS’s investment-banking and trading franchise and help revenue. Morgan Stanley Names Citigroup Inc. (C) Its Top Pick, Raises Price Target Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Regains Morgan Stanley’s Top Spot in Semiconductor Coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector-rotation study (client flow data). That product-level activity provides color on retail/investor flows (useful for near-term trading revenue signals) but isn’t a direct earnings surprise. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
- Negative Sentiment: Broader market risk-off (tech and semiconductor weakness, plus oil-driven travel & leisure selling) is pressuring bank stocks and trading volumes today; MS is not immune to a pullback in trading/investment-banking activity if risk sentiment persists. See SPY/QQQ weakness driven by big tech/semiconductor moves. SPY is down 2.1% today, on MU stock price movement
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.
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