Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Sells 2,898 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 195,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,898 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 2.1% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 2,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 14,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the second quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research is getting attention — analysts reiterated bullish views on Nvidia and published notes saying the NVDA story is “getting stronger,” which reinforces MS’s high-profile research franchise and fee-generating advisory/flow business. ‘It’s Getting Stronger,’ Says Morgan Stanley About Nvidia Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported a strong quarter in mid-January (EPS and revenue beat), which supports its fundamentals and underpins the stock despite today’s weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: MS economists and strategists are active in the press — Michael Gapen and others are framing Fed/real‑rate expectations and signaling the timing of future cuts could shift; this positions MS as a market voice but is informational rather than an immediate stock driver. Jerome Powell says economy has ‘clearly improved’…
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research has flagged sector-level shifts from interest-rate trends (spending moving toward goods vs. services); useful for clients and positioning but not an immediate binary for MS stock. Morgan Stanley Expects Interest Rate Trends to Shift Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Broad market / big-tech weakness is the biggest near-term drag: ETFs and large caps (MSFT, NVDA, AMZN, etc.) have suffered sizable moves today, which usually depresss trading revenue, wealth-management flows and investor sentiment for MS. VTI is down 1.4% today, on PLTR stock price movement
• Negative Sentiment: Bond‑market “disconnects” noted by a Morgan Stanley exec and reported in the press are creating episodic volatility and liquidity frictions — a headwind for trading and fixed‑income desks, which can pressure broker‑dealer earnings and thus the stock. A Morgan Stanley exec says chaotic headlines are creating disconnects in the bond market

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $182.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.16. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 96,223 shares of company stock worth $17,716,220 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.