Rockland Trust Co. Acquires 10,011 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,011 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $855,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $164.27 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $260.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $170.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into alternatives (EquityZen deal, private‑credit push) signals a deliberate effort to grow AUM and fee income beyond traditional wealth and capital‑markets businesses — a potential multi‑year revenue driver for MS. Morgan Stanley’s Push Into Alternatives: Is It an AUM Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade unit is in talks to lead retail distribution for the SpaceX IPO points to incremental trading revenue and retail franchise wins — a visible boost to investor sentiment about MS’s retail/prime brokerage positioning. Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade in talks to lead SpaceX IPO for small investors
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research is active and influential: the firm has recently named Meta a top pick and highlighted cybersecurity leaders — visible research leadership can drive trading, advisory and underwriting mandates. Those calls help explain positive sentiment around MS. ‘It’s time to buy Meta.’ Why Morgan Stanley sees 45% upside for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage cites Morgan Stanley’s planned spot Bitcoin ETF and institutional BTC buying as market catalysts — if launched, the ETF could lift trading volumes and custody/fees for MS, but timing and regulatory outcomes remain uncertain. Bitcoin traders forecast short-term downside even as BTC price chases $68K
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and strategist commentary from Morgan Stanley (advocating a more defensive allocation and higher cash holdings) is driving flow rotation headlines — this can increase demand for fixed‑income products but may temper equity trading over the short term. It’s time to get defensive, say Morgan Stanley strategists. Hold more cash and make these moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing market volatility and geopolitics (S&P correction headlines) create macro risk to MS’s trading and investment‑banking fees; strategists warn rate risks remain — a reminder MS exposure to market cycles can cut both trading and M&A revenue in downturns. Why Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Is Up Today and Why Morgan Stanley Says the Worst May Be Over

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

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.