North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Buys Shares of 11,528 Morgan Stanley $MS

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,047,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.3% of North Dallas Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,115,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 171,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,469,000 after purchasing an additional 24,379 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 275,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,947,000 after purchasing an additional 23,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley remains constructive on several financial and growth names, including recent bullish calls on companies like Cloudflare and American Airlines, reinforcing the bank’s active role in shaping market expectations. Morgan Stanley Lifts PT on Cloudflare (NET)
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it is “wide awake” to acquisition opportunities, which can support optimism that Morgan Stanley could pursue strategic M&A if conditions improve. Morgan Stanley ‘wide awake’ to acquisition opportunities, CEO says
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to a Buy-equivalent ranking, citing improving earnings prospects. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Buy: Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley presented at the U.S. Financials Conference 2026, which keeps investor attention on the bank’s capital markets and wealth-management strategy rather than on a single earnings event. Morgan Stanley (MS) Presents at US Financials Conference 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market risk-off trading and fading rate-cut expectations are pressuring financials and other rate-sensitive names, which can weigh on Morgan Stanley even without a bad company headline.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $210.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $331.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $128.81 and a 52 week high of $219.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.83 and a 200-day moving average of $179.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley 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.