Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11,883.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 453,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 449,677 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $72,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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 value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents 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 valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $155.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The stock has a market cap of $247.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research is active and visible — analysts at the firm have been issuing bullish/strategic calls across large-cap names (including a Morgan Stanley analyst recommending NVDA ahead of GTC and the firm elevating Coca‑Cola as a top consumer‑staples pick). Strong, high‑profile research helps MS’s institutional and sell‑side franchise, supporting fee and advisory credibility. Nvidia Stock Is Treading Water Below Its 50-Day Moving Average as GTC 2026 Kicks Off. How to Play It Here
• Positive Sentiment: MS research continues to move markets — Morgan Stanley raised profile/price targets on names such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and flagged Coca‑Cola as a top staples pick, reinforcing the firm’s role in shaping institutional flows. Such published calls can boost trading and institutional engagement. Morgan Stanley Elevates Coca-Cola (KO) Stock to Top Consumer Staples Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Alumni hiring highlights MS’s talent pipeline — a former Morgan Stanley executive (Christine Plummer) was appointed CFO at Streamex. This underlines MS’s role as a feeder of senior finance talent but has no direct effect on MS’s earnings. Former Morgan Stanley Executive Joins Streamex as CFO
• Negative Sentiment: Key negative: Morgan Stanley limited withdrawals from a private‑credit fund (North Haven Private Income Fund) after ~11% redemption pressure — the firm joined BlackRock in gating redemptions. That raises near‑term liquidity, reputational and regulatory risk for MS’s asset‑management/private‑credit businesses and could pressure net inflows, fee revenue and client confidence if the episode broadens. Investors should watch for follow‑on disclosures, redemption dynamics across other funds, and potential regulatory scrutiny. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley And BlackRock Limit Withdrawals—Is Private Credit Gating A Crisis Or Market ‘Stabilizer’?
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk flagged by Morgan Stanley strategists — the firm warned Chinese equities could drop up to 10% if a planned Trump‑Xi summit is delayed. Broader market stress from geopolitical or policy shocks would weigh on MS’s trading, wealth and advisory revenues. Chinese stocks could fall by up to 10% if Trump-Xi summit is delayed, Morgan Stanley strategists say

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.