Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 1,410.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.
Key Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Jefferies says Morgan Stanley should benefit from a trading surge and steady dealmaking, raising expectations for a strong Q1 — a near‑term earnings catalyst. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seen riding trading boom as dealmaking holds firm, Jefferies says
- Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on MS (from $172 to $186), which supports a constructive view from a large Wall Street shop and may attract buyers. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $186
- Positive Sentiment: Billionaire Ken Griffin maintains a sizable stake in Morgan Stanley — a notable institutional endorsement that can support sentiment. Is Morgan Stanley (MS) The Best Financial Stock to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin?
- Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund set a Q1 2026 results call — investors in MS‑linked credit vehicles should monitor fund results for credit performance and fee generation. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Sets Q1 2026 Results Call
- Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research says AI‑driven labor disruption remains limited so far — a thematic view that may temper near‑term risk narratives around financials but is not an immediate earnings driver. Morgan Stanley finds AI labor disruption remains limited in early stages
- Negative Sentiment: Evercore and BMO both cut Morgan Stanley’s price target (from $215 to $190), signaling reduced upside from some sell‑side desks and adding near‑term pressure on sentiment. Evercore adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $190 BMO Capital adjusts price target on Morgan Stanley to $190
- Negative Sentiment: Firm is launching a private‑credit vehicle while the sector faces liquidity stress — this could expand fee opportunities but also raises execution and liquidity risk that investors may discount. Morgan Stanley Plans Private Credit Fund Even as Investors Flee
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
MS opened at $166.33 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.47. The company has a market capitalization of $264.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. 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.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report).
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