Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Decreased by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 70.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,551 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third 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. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 57.1% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s liquidity cushion and capital-return capacity look strong: Zacks notes MS ended 2025 with about $386B of average liquidity, an 8% dividend increase and roughly $17.4B still available under a $20B buyback program — supportive for dividends and buybacks that boost shareholder returns. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP) continues active M&A/private equity investing — MSCP’s acquisition of Security 101 signals ongoing dealflow and fee‑generating activity in its investment management business. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Acquires Security 101
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing analyst/research flow from Morgan Stanley (multiple TipRanks items) underscores the firm’s investment‑banking and research reach (a revenue driver over time) but isn’t a near‑term earnings surprise. Example: MS research cited on Trade Desk coverage. Trade Desk: Solid Kokai Adoption and CTV Momentum…
• Neutral Sentiment: Press and data show MS has recently outperformed the S&P 500 — supporting positive sentiment but not guaranteeing continued beat. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Negative Sentiment: Barron’s reports rising advisor‑recruiting costs at Morgan Stanley, which could pressure near‑term margins in wealth management — an important earnings driver for the bank. Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/portfolio moves: a recent filing shows Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial holder in Pilbara Minerals — asset reductions by the firm (or its funds) can be read as portfolio rebalancing and may modestly affect trading flows. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in PLS Group

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $173.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $275.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $179.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

About Morgan Stanley

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.