Truist Financial Corp Has $89.26 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 561,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,874 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $89,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MS opened at $182.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.02. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 16.92%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 196,223 shares of company stock worth $34,150,220. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Closed acquisition of EquityZen expands Morgan Stanley’s private‑shares distribution and technology footprint, boosting its ability to monetize pre‑IPO/private markets through wealth channels. Morgan Stanley Closes Acquisition of EquityZen
• Positive Sentiment: Firm appointed Amy Oldenburg as head of digital asset strategy — a concrete leadership step after recent crypto ETF filings and wallet plans, signaling push into fee‑rich digital‑asset services. Morgan Stanley appoints new head of digital asset strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Research visibility: Morgan Stanley’s research is influencing markets (notably its space‑sector work) and the firm’s multi‑engine model drew positive mention from other banks — supports franchise value and fee‑based flows. Space Stock Boom: Why Retail and Wall Street Are Aligning
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro research note: Morgan Stanley’s economic views (on spending shifts as rates change) are market‑relevant but not an immediate stock catalyst; they mainly inform sector allocation. Morgan Stanley Expects Interest Rate Trends to Shift Spending Away from Services Toward Goods
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst franchise activity (MS analysts publishing targets/coverage on many names) underscores the firm’s research reach but is indirect for MS’s near‑term stock movement. Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Multi-Engine Model Impresses RBC
• Negative Sentiment: Minor portfolio/substantial‑holder filings (e.g., Morgan Stanley ceasing to be a substantial shareholder in an external resource name) and routine insider/position moves can create short‑term headline noise. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Shareholder in West African Resources

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.