Brokerages Set Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Target Price at $185.93

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $185.9286.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an application with the OCC to charter a new bank unit supporting crypto back‑office activity — a signal management is building regulated infrastructure (custody, settlement) that could open new fee pools if regulators approve and demand scales. Morgan Stanley’s OCC Application Is Wall Street Colonizing Crypto’s Back Office
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reporting says MS is exploring “full‑stack” digital‑asset services (bitcoin custody, trading, lending and yield) — moves that position the bank to monetize institutional crypto demand and diversify revenue beyond traditional trading/advisory. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending
• Positive Sentiment: MS appears among major institutions now advising modest Bitcoin allocations (1–5%) for portfolios — that endorsement (and MS research coverage) supports ongoing client demand and validates the bank’s strategy to offer crypto products. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Support Bitcoin Stakes
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley disclosed a roughly 4.25% voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/strategic holding that is newsworthy but not an immediate operating catalyst for MS core businesses. Morgan Stanley Discloses 4.25% Voting Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s direct‑lending arm reported Q4 results and declared a dividend — a reminder MS has sizable alternative‑assets exposure (private credit) that supports fee income but also ties the franchise to credit‑mark volatility. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Primary negative driver today is a sector‑wide risk‑off selloff hitting large banks; MS is moving with peers as investors rotate out of cyclical financials amid macro/A.I. recession‑narrative fears rather than fresh company news. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile insider and executive selling (documented filings discussed in market commentary) is amplifying caution; heavy insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if legally executed. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% 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 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $166.20 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $263.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.20. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

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.