Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.4%

MS stock opened at $175.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.37 and a 200-day moving average of $163.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley posted a strong Q4 and the firm has gotten buy-side coverage looking at valuation after a rebound in investment banking, supporting fee revenue expectations and the stock’s fundamental story. Valuation Check
• Positive Sentiment: League‑leading deal activity: Morgan Stanley ranked first in power M&A advisory in 2025 — a sign of strong investment banking momentum that should help fee income going forward. M&A Advisory Ranking
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: a small institutional buy (Linscomb Wealth adding ~2,966 shares) was reported — not material by itself but consistent with some fund-level accumulation. Fund Purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/brand events: Morgan Stanley is hosting community and innovation events (Go Red women’s leadership, MS Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures demo day) — positive for reputation and client relationships but unlikely to move near‑term earnings. Go Red Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/portfolio housekeeping: filings show Morgan Stanley changing some external holdings (e.g., ceasing to be a substantial holder in RPMGlobal) — routine institutional repositioning. Holder Update
• Negative Sentiment: Industry policy risk/costs: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased Washington lobbying substantially — more regulatory fights and potential compliance costs could pressure margins and create short‑term uncertainty for large banks including MS. Lobbying & Policy Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/headline pressure: equity markets are weaker today (SPY down) driven by sharp moves in large constituents (notably a big selloff in LLY and other names). That broad risk‑off environment is pulling MS lower even though company fundamentals look solid; watch macro/tech/healthcare headlines for further pressure. Market Weakness Example

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.