Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,440 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares during the period. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $855,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,407,000 after buying an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

MS opened at $160.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $178.20 and its 200-day moving average is $167.69. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an updated S‑1 / SEC amendment advancing its planned spot Bitcoin ETF (naming Coinbase custody and BNY Mellon roles). That materially increases the firm’s potential fee pool (trading, custody, securities lending) if approved — a strategic growth lever beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Files Updated SEC Amendment for Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley provided financing (initial $500M, expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific for data center/AI infrastructure, demonstrating growth in corporate lending and structured finance opportunities tied to AI/crypto infrastructure. That can add fee and interest income if credit performance holds. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Public commentary from Morgan Stanley events (tech/AI conferences) keeps the firm visible as an advisor/market‑maker in tech and AI financing; useful for long‑term franchise positioning but not an immediate earnings surprise. Morgan Stanley’s top tech banker: It’s ‘wartime, not peacetime’ for software
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 roles (~3% of workforce) across divisions. Markets often react negatively to broad layoffs because they signal restructuring risk, potential disruption to revenue growth and near‑term execution uncertainty even if they imply future cost savings. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Investor flow appears to favor trimming MS exposure amid the headlines; analysts and market commentators are re‑assessing near‑term margins and execution risk despite record revenues in 2025 — producing downward pressure on the share price today. Morgan Stanley Cuts 3% Workforce Despite Record Revenues in 2025

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.